Spike in turnout, sport’s local growth has West Laurens volleyball set to continue recent rise

The West Laurens High School gym has gotten to be a pretty busy place on weekday afternoons this fall. 

Between its daily practices and recent home matches, the Raider volleyball team has had the place buzzing with as much activity as ever during the month of August. 

Both participation and excitement are surging around the program thanks to record participation that has them carrying three squads, both “A” and “B” sub-varsity groups alongside the main club, for only the second time ever, and recent growth in the sport’s local popularity that likely contributed to the turnout of more than 70 interested athletes when tryouts were held earlier this year.

“I don’t know the exact number, but it was a lot,” said West Laurens head coach Leigh Moore.

The mix of experienced upperclassmen and young up-and-comers (a handful from the exploding freshman and sophomore ranks who have contributed at the varsity level right away) among that number has the Raiders anticipating some good things in both the near and long-term future of their program, which has begun to come into its own over the last few seasons. 

A month into the schedule, their 2026 varsity team is also hitting its stride. 

Though Lamar County and Mary Persons combined to end its winning streak of five in the last of a three-event homestand Thursday, West Laurens was showing some signs its new lineup is starting to jell. 

Early struggles were to be expected as the group – working to build familiarity and chemistry – took on some steep competition in the first few weeks, and suffered early shutouts at the hands of Veterans, Colquitt County, Mary Persons, Jones County, Jasper County and FPD, and salvaged just one set out of their first 15 in a 2-1 loss to Stratford. 

But things have come together since a first victory over Covenant Aug. 13. The Raiders followed it with five wins in their next nine, the last several coinciding with three consecutive home tri-meets that included sweeps of Crawford County and Northside last Thursday, and Toombs and Peach counties earlier this week. 

They stand with an overall record of 6-11 heading into a Saturday tournament in Cordele. 

“This month of August, I’ve scheduled some very tough teams,” Moore said. “The first few games were a little rough, but I know I scheduled a lot of 6A and 7A schools, with kids who play club year-round. It helps build more skills for the future, points out what we need to work on. I’m hoping that once we get to region, we’ll do much better.” 

There’s a ways to go, but this team’s goals are fixed just as high as they’ve been for those in the last three seasons that won back-to-back area championships in ’23 and ’24, and was runner-up a year ago. 

West Laurens hosted state playoff matches all three seasons, but is yet to advance, after a 3-0 shutout by Troup represented a third straight first-round exit in a 14-24 overall finish last November. 

Clearing that stubborn postseason hurdle, and finishing at or near the top of the league again, are the objectives the Raiders will be shooting for when they enter their stretch run next month. 

For the first time in a while, they’ll be in a true region that mirrors their core of competition in other sports. The 3-AAAA schedule featuring several established programs, of which Liberty County, Harlem and Southeast Bulloch are all off to winning starts. 

“We’re working out a few things,” Moore said earlier this week. “We’ve won our last five games in a row, so we’ve started picking it up a little.” 

potential

Seven returning seniors – Chloe Kemp, Natalie Nguyen, Tan Moore, Piper Thomas, Jadah Philyaw, Daniella Manalo and Skylar Fountain – comprise the core of West’s varsity lineup. 

Kemp, who has a lot to offer all over the court, will be one of the leaders it relies on most heavily. 

“She’s always very consistent,” Moore said. “Her serves and her hits have been pretty consistent this year. I expect her to do very well.” 

Among underclassmen, look for junior Hannah Wells, and a couple of standouts from that wave of younger players, to make an impact. 

Though there are plenty of freshmen and sophomores who have entered high school with skills advanced well beyond the average, a couple of 10th graders – Kayleigh Mack and Jolee Hudson – have already broken into the varsity rotation. 

“I’ve got some very talented sophomores,” Moore said. “They’ve only been playing a couple of years, but to see them come and make varsity their 10th grade year is good to see.” 

There are plenty of other rising stars who will develop in JV competition, on either the “A” team or “B” squad made up almost exclusively of freshmen. 

Players, across the board, have impressed Moore and her assistants Connor Buchanan and Luke Young (both West Laurens grads with collegiate volleyball playing and/or coaching experience) with their dedication to learn and get better. 

“They are very coachable,” Moore said. “They’re willing to stay extra, they’re willing to listen to suggestions in practice and put in the work to do better. That’s why we’re progressing like we are, because they are hard workers and dedicated to getting better, even coming to practices they didn’t have to come to. They’re all putting in the work to try to do better.” 

All is part of a very positive trend of local growth in the sport of volleyball, which is buoying the success of the Raiders’ program in real time. 

More and more young players are being introduced through Dublin Upward Sports, a program based at Dublin First Church of the Nazarene where many West Laurens players have been involved as players, and later coaches. 

“A lot of these girls did play Upward, and were coached by my older girls,” Moore said. 

Similar to baseball and soccer, volleyball is a sport for which team and individual training outside of just the several months that make up the actual season is critical to development. 

On top of beneficial space to practice and train (with at least one former Raider player offering regular youth lessons) becoming available at the new Southern Pines indoor facility, West Laurens athletes have increasingly been taking advantage of outside opportunities to improve their game, and get exposure to beneficial competition, in other places. 

“I’ve been able to get a lot of girls into club, which I think has made a huge difference,” Moore said. “That’s become a key element to building this program.” 

But as with any high school athletic program, the self-sustaining effect of success is the biggest catalyst. 

Volleyball at West Laurens only dates back to the late 2000s, just a year or so before the school’s move to its current campus outside of Dexter, but the program has covered a lot of ground in close to two decades establishing itself in a community where volleyball wasn’t originally very widespread. 

After a few strong seasons scattered among several average ones in their formative years, the Raiders have begun to really gain traction with three or four really good ones in a row. 

“When I started coaching, our volleyball program was not very competitive, as far as winning any region titles,” Moore said. “I think they had won one region title before. It is super hard in an area where you don’t have a middle school program and you don’t have a rec program to be very competitive.” 

West Laurens posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons in 2023 and 2024, dropping just one out of 24 region matches in the span. Last year was a bit slower overall, though the Raiders still lost only three region matches in their runner-up finish to Mary Persons, and were at home again in the first round of the playoffs. 

Competing consistently at a higher level will only continue to raise that profile. 

“I think our success has built a lot of interest from other girls,” Moore said. “I think that’s why a lot of girls are starting to get interested in it, seeing a program that’s doing more winning than losing.”