Lady Bobcats have plenty of athletes

Depth will be a major strength for the Berryville High School volleyball team this fall, longtime coach Kristin Whetham said.

Berryville opens the 2024 season on Monday, Aug. 19, hosting Thaden.

Although the Lady Bobcats have only two seniors in Addie Ashford and Kynadee Hopper, they return a talented junior class and also should benefit from the return of junior Kaylyn Smith, who missed all of last season with an injury.

“We kind of struggled a little bit last year, but I think struggling last year has helped them out this year,” Whetham said. “We’ve got a lot of key players that played last year returning.”

In addition to Ashford at setter and Hopper in the middle, those returners include setter Paige Thurman, libero Hannah Campbell, defensive specialist Cara Summers and Hailey Howerton on the right side.

Kaylyn Smith’s return after being sidelined all last season by a broken hand should give Berryville a boost.

“She’s really come on this summer,” said Whetham, who is Smith’s aunt. “She’s coming in an as outside hitter.”

Smith’s younger sister, Kinly, is a talented sophomore.

“She’s been setting the ball since seventh grade,” Whetham said. “She has really, really nice hands and she’s just sports-savvy. She understands.”

Another sophomore, Laykin Talley, also will see playing time for the Lady Bobcats.

Berryville could benefit from a little easier conference schedule this fall with the depature of both Farmington and Shiloh Christian to Class 5A. Whetham said Prairie Grove is the likely favorite to win the conference, but after that things will be very competitive.

“You put them at No. 1, then two through five, we’re all right there,” she said. “And you can put us in that mix. There’s no one team that’s going to run away with the conference this year, I don’t think.”