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Season Preview: Wildcats Women’s Volleyball Primed to Rise up the 2023 SIAC Ranks

8/29/2023 1:13:00 PM

By: Chris Myers
2022 Schedule
2022 Roster
FORT VALLEY, Ga. – With two years of laying the foundation and adding talent, the Wildcats are ready to pounce this fall on the court. The Fort Valley State women's volleyball team is primed to rise up the 2023 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ranks and make its presence felt.
 
Upon his arrival three years ago, FVSU head coach Larry Wrather started to expand the program's recruiting circle and began to lay the foundation of talent to bring the Wildcat program up to the level it use to be contending for league titles. The retooling of the roster has not shown in the win/loss results, but the 2023 Wildcat squad will mix the now experienced third-year group, last year's newcomers and the FVSU coach's third talented group together for what is anticipated to now show the fruits of growth and success.

The 2023 Wildcats drive to change begins this weekend with a pair of home matches starting this Friday evening, September 1, in a 5 p.m. home match against LaGrange College in the HPE Arena, before they entertain and start SIAC play on Sunday (Sept. 3) in a 2 p.m. match with Allen University.
 
Coming off a tough 6-21 campaign, the Wildcats are not expected to wow anyone in the SIAC after they were picked to finish seventh in the East Division according to the Preseason Poll.

 
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What makes this year's team different than last year's edition?
 
"This group this year came in with a completely different mindset and focus," pointed out Wrather. "I believe this will be the year we start to see the results from the labor we put in the last two years."
 
The four third-year Wildcats led by All-SIAC Second Team outside hitter Raven Edwards (Merrillville, Ind.), setter/outside hitters Laiani McCullough (Beaufort, S.C.) and Morgan Hebert (Fresno, Calif.) and middle hitter Syraih Wint (Fresno, Calif.) are the foundation and leaders of the 2023 team. This quartet will be the ones driving the car to reach the goals and success the program seeks.
 
"Our only focus as a team right now for it (this season) to be a success is for us to get to the Conference tournament," stressed the FVSU coach. "So, being at minimum in the top four of the East, is our focus. (For us to make this success happen), it will take for us to come out right away, smack people in the mouth and take some smacks (ourselves) and not backing down."
 
Edwards led the 2022 FVSU team with a team-high 169 kills (2.04 k/set) to go with 81 digs and 12 blocks over 83 sets. McCullough and Hebert, who recorded 525 and 99 assists, will set the table for Edwards and the other hitters in a much-improved Wildcat attack. McCullough recorded a team-leading 33 aces and second in digs (181) and blocks (24), while Hebert contributed 67 kills and 78 digs. Wint added 32 kills along the front line and had 12 blocks.
 
FVSU has six other players back for their second seasons in The Valley led by the team's top libero in junior Sarah Rosario (Bayamon, P.R.). She was one of the tops at her position for the last half of the year after taking over the spot in the lineup with 3.76 digs per set (346 total) to go with 26 aces.
 
The other five second-year Wildcats are all hitters with senior Hallea Gibbs (Loganville, Ga.) and sophomores Morgan Gooden (Douglasville, Ga.), Jayda Mikell (Jacksonville, Fla.), Kaila Copeland (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Michelle Lynch (Conyers, Ga.).
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Gooden led the four with 104 kills and lined 20 aces, while Mikell manned the middle with a team-high 53 total blocks to go with 71 blocks. Gibbs chipped in 74 kills, 129 digs and 19 aces, while Copeland plays more of a utility role where she finished with 144 digs, 49 kills, 47 assists, 26 aces and 19 blocks. Lynch had 41 kills and 15 blocks.
 
Wrather welcomes his third influx of new talent of six newcomers. This group overall will bring much needed height as part of the mix for team success as five of the six FVSU fresh faces are 5-10 to 6-0 tall. The entire group, though, will greatly rise the team competition and talent levels.
 
"Height never hurts. But, I believe it's more of the mentality that was brought in that helps us just as much as height does," explained Wrather. "Our newcomers this year helped push the needle closer to solidifying the culture that we are trying to set in the program. They helped athletically fill some gaps we had."
 
Moving up to the NCAA Division II ranks, junior transfer Nia Mack (Cibolo, Texas) comes to FVSU after playing at Navarro College the last two years. She posted 89 blocks, 69 kills, 68 digs and 33 aces in 113 sets last fall season.
 
Denver, Colo.'s Thomas Jefferson High teammates, Laila Hilton and Nakaia Berekley bring their familiarity playing on the same team across the country to the middle Georgia campus. Antonia Brewer (Summerville, S.C.) makes a second South Carolina native to the roster and adds another 6-0 middle blocker, while Brooke Matthews (Atlanta, Ga.) made her way down I-75 to the fold. Completing the talented roster, Aamori Daniels from Fort Valley and Peach County High gives another tall (5-11) opposite option.
 
Despite outside opinion and expectations not being very high, Coach Wrather and his 2023 Wildcats are set to be the surprise team of the league – except it will be no surprise to anyone in the Wildcat team room.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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