Lady Hawks make big strides in 2025

The Holly Springs High School volleyball team just wrapped up a record-setting season.

The Lady Hawks finished with the most wins ever, placed third in Region 2-3A and advanced to the opening round of the state playoffs.

“One of my goals was to win more games than we did last season, and we exceeded that goal,” said head coach Kayla Reed. “Another was to end the season as having the most wins since volleyball has been at Holly Springs, and we met that goal (7-9 overall record). Another was to finish our division in first place. We tried, but fell short. We were number one for a few days, but couldn’t hold on to it. That’s top of my list next season, to finish first place in the district. I want my girls to work hard and experience being in first place.”

Reed said this year’s team showed a lot of integrity. Senior captains were Laikyn Smith and Makenzie Mitchell. She said both “really stepped up this year.”

“Smith has been a great asset to the team,” she said. “I call her `the brains’ when it comes to pregame meetings with the refs and asking them questions. Mitchell is that strong demanding voice that tells everyone to `lock in.’”

She said another senior, Janett Lunares, shined brightly this year. The loudest cheerleaders on the floor, she said, are seniors Jurnee Marion and Keturah Payton. She said those two have the Hawks spirit to keep everyone going. Coach Reed said senior Khassidy McKinney started out very nervous but ended the season as one of the team’s best servers. Other seniors who filled key roles and helped lead the team to its success this season include Taniela Richard, Celiyah Turnage, Kaliyah Vaughn and Angiya Zinn.

Reed also mentioned big contributions of some underclassmen who she expects to “step up” even more next season. Those include Shyia Spencer, C’yanni Riley, Ashlynn Draper, T’zaria Upshaw and Sarai Osteen.

“They all have improved tremendously, and they will be really good players if they keep working hard,” she said.

Reed is assisted by coach Samantha Aghimien.

“Coach A’s background knowledge with volleyball has helped me throughout this season,” Reed said. “If you’ve been to games, you’ve seen both of us yelling from the sidelines.”

The Lady Hawks were eliminated in the first round of the state playoffs Saturday at Alcorn Central.

“We ended our season with a total of seven players at Alcorn Central,” Coach Reed said. “They played hard and had fun. The crowd and the refs loved them.”