By Chris Parker
Greenwood volleyball has a new head coach in Bailey Brashers this season. She takes over a program entering its second season of existence.
This will be the first head coaching job for Brashers after she served as an assistant coach for JC Harmon High School in Kansas City last season.
The opportunity to coach the Greenwood program was something she could not let pass her by.
“I actually had no intentions of leaving Kansas City for at least a few years, I wasn’t even looking for a new coaching job. Sometimes things are just too perfect to pass up, which is exactly how I felt when I was told about this program and the position that had opened up,” Brashers said. “I had been looking into pursuing my master’s degree, I had completed my bachelor’s in exercise science at Wichita State during the spring of the initial pandemic. COVID had put the idea of continuing my education on pause, but this year I had begun looking into different programs for a master’s degree in kinesiology. Missouri State had crossed my radar, I grew up in Mount Vernon, so I knew the area well and would be surrounded by family and childhood friends again. My sister-in-law was the one who told me about the opportunity to coach volleyball and work as a graduate assistant at Greenwood, and I am immensely grateful to her for that. The opportunity to help build a fresh program, only in their second year off the ground, is exhilarating to me. I can’t wait to see the progress that each of these girls will make, and the impact they will leave on this program.”
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Greenwood returns a good number of players from last season’s inaugural team.
“We have a large number of returning players, a lot of which are underclassmen, sophomores specifically,” Brashers said. “The return of these girls comes along with a lot of excitement for growth and improvement from the past inaugural season. Some key sophomores that will have an impact and help provide leadership to new teammates are: Isabel Insley (outside hitter), Harper Pinkston (right side hitter/setter), Emma Scully (setter), Shriya Miller (DS), and Elif Benzer (outside hitter/DS). One of the key returning upperclassmen is Samara Lee, last year’s libero, her defensive skills and knowledge of the game will help build up our backrow and provide leadership to our underclassmen and new incoming players.”
Lena Tarsney and Miila Chapman will be newcomers to the team.
Only in its second year, the Greenwood volleyball program still has a lot of growth ahead.
“I believe this team’s biggest strength is their willingness to learn and their coachability. These girls are willing to ask the questions and follow the steps necessary for improvement and growth. They have a great attitude when receiving feedback, they are open to it and apply it in making their adjustments,” Brashers said. “Our biggest area of improvement is going to be confidence moving into the competitive season. These girls have immense potential, but their confidence in themselves and their ability to play will determine the success that we see this year.”
Greenwood opens the season at Galena on Aug. 29 before its home opener on Sept. 5 against Mansfield.
“Everybody loves to win, but that is not my overall expectation from the team this year,” Brashers said. “Our expectation is progress. We are setting manageable, achievable goals as a team, and I’ve asked each of the girls to challenge themselves by setting personal goals for each game, as well as for the season. The expectation is to get better each practice, each match, each step of the season by putting in the commitment and effort necessary to do so. Winning is just a byproduct that we would be happy with.”
