MC Volleyball Set for the Season Under New Coach

After an eventful summer, the Lady Choctaws prepare for the season ahead.

The Mississippi College volleyball team has been preparing for their opening game against Southeastern Oklahoma State under a new head coach, Bentley Odom.

Already, the Lady Choctaws have made several promising strides. This year's team earned a preseason poll of fourth in the Gulf South Conference, with Lydia Paulette being included in the preseason all-conference team. 

The Mississippi College 2024-2025 women’s volleyball team during their media day. (Photo Credit: Logan Orman)

Odom says the team has been intentionally training and working hard to be ready for the season. “They’re so locked in on whatever we’re working on,” Odom said.

Odom played for Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. From there, she served as a graduate assistant at West Florida for two years before becoming an assistant coach for West Texas A&M University. 

Odom quickly worked with the team to establish specific goals for the season. “It’s clear that these girls are ready to work and ready to achieve some big goals together this year,” Odom said.

Odom is hopeful for the coming year. “Our four seniors are the perfect pairing of leadership goals on our team,” she said. “We have on-court leadership, off-court leadership, and then people who are able to mix in.” 

Londyn Bakeris and Ali Wiggins, two Mississippi College seniors, spent part of their summer preparing for this season by joining the ​​USA D-2 / One World Outreach Volleyball Team on their 2024 Brazil Tour. The pair were two of nine Division II players selected. Paulette, another senior, has represented Mississippi College on a past tour. Rounding out the seniors is Julia Sumrall, a six-foot middle blocker. 

Last year's team went 13-15 overall, going 10-6 in conference. The team fell, however, in the quarterfinals of the GSC tournament. 

“This season has been very highly anticipated for me,” Wiggins said. “I’m just looking forward to it and practicing with my teammates. We get along so well, and I’m getting to play with some of my closest friends.” 

Wiggins emphasized the close-knit nature of the team. She calls them her family. “We have four seniors as well as underclassmen… The locker room has always been great. We really do feel like a family,” she said. “We’re friends and love each other, so it's been great. The balance is that we have leadership, but also we have all the classes meshing together.”

The Lady Choctaws faced the Storm in their season opener on Friday, September 6th at 10 a.m. in the Reddle-Tiger Invitational in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. MC cinched the victory 3-1.