Molly Hill always expected 2025 to be a rebuilding season.
With six seniors having departed after leading Polk County to back-to-back state championships, Hill knew last year’s Wolverines would begin the year with a young squad needing to build experience. What she didn’t count on was losing one of her few returnees, Beija Olivari, to an injury early in the season.
That forced lineup changes and altered Hill’s plans for the year. Polk County still fashioned a 15-12 record and reached the second round of the 3A state playoffs before falling at McMichael.
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“Lots of things happened last year that were unexpected, that forced us to think on our feet,” Hill said. “The biggest one was getting three or four games in and losing Beija for the whole season.
“I feel like with the circumstances we had, we did everything we could. We still had a really successful year and we competed. We had a lot of people step up last year, but we are hoping this year is a little bit more consistent and we do avoid some of those injuries.”
Polk County opens its regular season on Monday, welcoming East Rutherford for a nonconference match. That kicks off a campaign in which Hill thinks the pieces are potentially there to make a run at a Western Highlands Conference title, though defending champion Owen and Hendersonville will have much to say about how the race unfolds.
“We’re young in the sense that we have a big group of freshmen this year,” said Hill, who begins her 13th season as the Wolverines’ head coach. “But I feel really good about this group. I’m getting a chance to coach some girls that have been on JV for the last two years and now getting their chance on varsity, so that’s fun.”
Olivari has recovered from the injury that sidelined her for six months and is expected to be one of the team’s offensive leaders. She and junior Reeve Carroll will anchor Polk’s outside hitting attack, and both will also play front and back row. That’s a natural option for Carroll, who began last season as the Wolverines’ libero before moving out of that role following Olivari’s injury.
Elena Greve may also see some time on the left side, though she’ll likely hit from the right. She’ll be joined there by a group that includes Emily Nance, Jessie Bradley and Madalyn Varnadore. Also expected to see some time as a hitter is freshman Kenzie Alm, though she’ll also be doing duty as Polk’s second setter behind junior Abby Lewis.
“I’m pairing Kenzie with Beija, and I’m challenging her,” Hill said. “Their connection is becoming really strong. They’re running a lot of fast plays, and just trying things out of the middle. It’s fun to watch, and she’s hanging in there even though she’s young.
“Jessie and Emily are doing really well. Jessie has a really strong serve. This little left-handed jump serve that she does, she can really serve the ball.”
Senior Lorali Wing and junior Amiyah Waters, who joins the program for the first time, will see action at middle hitter. They, along with Varnadore, Nance and Alm, give the Wolverines plenty of height up front.
“(Wing and Waters) are definitely my two biggest girls, and they do provide a really solid block on the front row,” Hill said. “We have one rotation where I have Beija, Amiyah and Kenzie all on front row, and that’s a huge opportunity for us to get some touches on the net balls.
“But I’ve always said I want us to be a really good passing and serve receive team. That’s what we’re known for, and a lot of coaches point out how well we serve receive and how well we pass the ball and how fast our offense is because we are able to pass the ball so well. So we always try to be a good passing team. At the same time, we’ve got a lot of height this year that we don’t always have.”
With Carroll set to play front and back row, that opened up the libero jersey, and junior Claire Lawrence will be the one to fill it. While Lawrence was often Polk’s top hitter as a junior varsity player, she’s adapted quickly to the libero role. A rule change this season allows coaches to use two liberos per set, but Lawrence has played so well in the preseason that Hill hasn’t even thought about adopting that approach.
“She’s playing really consistent, really fast,” Hill said. “She’s doing really, really well. I’m just trying to get that leadership mentality out of her. People call the setter and the libero the quarterbacks of the team. They’ve got to talk and run the show. So just giving her that confidence boost. But it’s early and I know it will come. She is exceeding all of my expectations so far.”
Senior Ava Evans and juniors Olivia Kirk and Zulem Ramirez Chavez will see action in the back row as well.
Lewis earned all-conference honors last season and will be counted on to direct much of Polk County’s offense this season.
“She’s doing great,” Hill said. “She’s a really good leader. Last year she got to set a little bit on front row and back row. This year, she’s primarily just setting from the back row.”
It’s a group that has already shown its potential, staying competitive with larger schools throughout its preseason schedule.
“Going into our scrimmage, no one knew what I was going to do, and Reeve had been gone for a couple of days on a trip with her dad,” Hill said. “She finally got back and we were able to practice for a couple of days and then do the scrimmage.
“(After the scrimmage) Reeve and Beija came up to me and were like, OK, that was competitive. These two scrimmages were good because they really pointed out what we need to work on. But it’s early, and we have time to figure that stuff out.”
