The Lady Trojan volleyball team has high expectations for the season as they come off of their 2024-2025 state championship campaign. The girls worked relentlessly in the offseason and all summer long to maintain the level of excellence established last season. From workouts to open gyms, they worked tirelessly to achieve their goals of another district title and potential state tournament run.
On Sept. 4, 2025, the Lady Trojans had a major win against Cape Notre Dame winning 3-2. Junior outside hitter, and captain, Eden Robart, had 34 kills in the game, earning her player of the game. Robart said, “My goals are definitely to accomplish 1000 kills before my season is over. Another goal would be growing as a teammate over the next two years of high school. My expectations will be to win districts and to hopefully go pretty far again.”
Coach Ashley Matthews holds the team to a high standard knowing their potential to achieve great things. Coach Matthews said, “We didn’t just win a game, they showed that they can compete with anyone. Expectations for the season have increased since the Cape Notre Dame game, the sky is the limit.”
Junior setter Adalynn Gibson suffered an ankle injury during preseason but is handling it well. In a recent interview, Gibson said, “I’ve overcome my injury by doing all the necessary steps in order for it to heal. I then slowly started doing more and more, allowing it to adapt to these changes after not practicing. My goals for this season are to keep my ankles healthy to be there for my team. I am so happy to be back and hope to have a healthy and achievable season all around.”
Tons of people are wondering the same question: “Who is going to fill Indiana State University commit Ava Robart’s shoes?” Well, to answer that question, sophomore outside hitter Eve Litton has put in a lot of work leading up to her second year as a varsity player. There are many players returning to the PHS varsity volleyball team including juniors Corrine Ainley, Adalyn Kirby, Adalynn Gibson, Macyn McCarthy, and Eden Robart with the sophomores being Eve Litton and Brenley Thornton.
Along with the returning players, the team also gained new players for the 2025-2026 season. New juniors consist of Sophie Essmyer and Hallie Payne, while the sophomores include Presley Smith and Sabyn Brown. During preseason when Gibson was hurt, Brown was given time to become a varsity setter.
When asked about the experience Brown said, “It’s an honor to be on varsity and to get the opportunity to represent my school at the highest level. I appreciate my coaches trusting in me and giving me all I need to be successful. My goals for this season are to help my team get a district and conference title and continue to make a run from there.”
The girls have several home games on their schedule and they are as following:
- Sept. 9, 2025 vs. Arcadia Valley @7 p.m.
- Sept. 10, 2025 vs. Steelville @7 p.m.
- Sept. 24, 2025 vs. Festus @7 p.m.
- Sept. 25, 2025 vs. Fredericktown @7 p.m.
- Sept. 29, 2025 vs. Valle Catholic @7 p.m.
- Sept. 30, 2025 vs. Farmington @7 p.m.
- Oct. 6, 2025 vs. DeSoto @7 p.m.
Be sure to come out and support the girls as they make their way through their season!
