MONTGOMERY, Ala. - For a 22nd and final season, Tori Renda will occupy the head position on the Faulkner Volleyball bench looking to lead her program she has led since 2005 back to glory one last time before she shifts her career path to professional counseling. The head Lady Eagle is reflective as she prepares for her last first serve of the season on Saturday.
"Faulkner has been my home," Renda says. "It has been a place that I found peace and solace during the chaotic times of my life. It is where I've built friendships that have lasted decades and where I have an extended family that is greater than I ever dreamed I could have. Faulkner is home, it's that simple."
Renda looks to reach rarefied air in her last ride. She hopes to add a title to her sole 2018 SSAC Championship after finishing as runner-up in 2017 and as a semifinalist in 2005-09, 2014-16 and 2020. On the national stage, Renda has led the program to consecutive NCCAA National Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006, the last two years Faulkner was a member of the organization, the 2005 NAIA Region XIII Tournament and the 2018 NAIA National Championship Opening Round. However, it has never experienced being the last team standing or advanced to the NAIA Final Site.
"In the season, I'd love to end as conference champions and take one more run at going to Nationals. That's what every Coach wants, right!"
However, when it comes to her final team and what a successful final season will look like, her goals are much more holistic and spiritual-minded as she looks to leave her mark as the third and longest-tenured head coach in program history. (Inaugural head coach Terina Odom coached from 1997-99 and current Faulkner faculty member Rayla Black led the Lady Eagles from 2000-04.)
"Ultimately this year, I'm focusing on writing the chapter to close the book here," she said. "It's a unique experience to know you're walking away on your own terms. For this team, especially these players, I want to leave memories and legacies and standards that will stand the test of time. But most importantly, I want them to know they're loved, valued and bigger than the sport of volleyball. That who they are matters. That volleyball is something they are good at, but not who they are. It will never define them!"
PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS
Coming off a nine-win season, Faulkner is picked to finish ninth out of the 12 teams in the SSAC Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll. The programs coming in behind the Eagles are Brewton-Parker Christian, coming off a 3-21 season in which it was the lone SSAC program to not make the SSAC Championship, new four-year institution Andrew College, which won the 2025 NJCAA Division I title in Georgia last season, and Wesleyan College, which won a four combined conference matches in the last three years in the NCAA DIII Collegiate Conference of the South. Two of Faulkner's SSAC wins came over BPCU, and as a result, the Lady Eagles scratched out a berth in the SSAC Championship field as the 8-seed. Now, with an even number of programs back in the conference, the tournament in November at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in downtown Montgomery is moving back to a full 12-team event with four pools of three teams each rather than two pools of four teams each, which was the format for the 2014-17, 2019 and 2021-25 events.
"No coach likes to be ranked ninth out of 12 teams in a preseason poll, but that's motivation," Renda explained. "That's an opportunity for us to showcase who we are without a target on our back. It is sometimes freeing not to have that one, two, or three placed on you. It gives us the opportunity to get ready to focus in and find a way through. No matter what a poll says, we keep working hard."
SCHEDULE
The Lady Eagles jump right into things at 10 am on Saturday, the 22nd, as the Lady Eagles travel to Mobile for a nonconference battle as part of a tri-match with Southern University of New Orleans. The Rams are ranked No. 24 in the preseason NAIA coaches' poll after finishing the 2025 season as SSAC Championship runners-up and SSAC regular season champions and advancing to the NAIA Final Site. The Rams are coached by Jon Campbell, who also began at his institution in 2005 and is tied with Renda for the longest current volleyball coaching tenure in the conference, with the second-longest SSAC coaching tenure starting in 2017.
Faulkner opens the home slate on August 28-29 with the 26th annual Faulkner Invitational with two contests each day. Among the opponents is a repeat participant in Reinhardt and a new one in IU Southeast, who combined for a 48-16 record in 2025. RU finished last season 17-2 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play and as AAC runner-up to Columbia International while earning an Opening Round berth. The Grenadiers went 19-8 and advanced as far as the River States Conference semifinals, where they fell to top-seed and No. 15 IU Kokomo, who advanced to the Final Site and put out Reinhardt. The tournament leads into the FHU Labor Day Tournament hosted by Freed-Hardeman; the host Lady Lions figure to pose the biggest challenge, as the Church of Christ sister school from the always-tough Mid-South Conference have taken 13 of the 17 all-time meetings.
The Lady Eagles return home and open conference play in a tri-match, as they welcome the Andrew Fighting Tigers and the Pensacola Christian Eagles, the latter of whom went 25-7, won the NCCAA DII Region Championship and advanced to the NCCAA DII Semifinals. Two days later, Faulkner has a crosstown battle at Huntingdon as it takes on the NCAA DIII Hawks for the first time in three years.
Renda said of the early season slate, "Our preseason schedule is one that we specifically structured to give us opportunities to look at every person on the team as to where they fit on the program roster, and where they're best going to reach the potential that we see for them. We have opportunities to find out where our strengths are and expose our weaknesses that maybe we're overlooking. I look forward to all of our preseason matches and getting to know the team better in competition, because practice only lets you see so much. When we open with Andrew for conference play, we should be ready and know exactly what we need to do to get to the finish line."
With the additions to the league, the SSAC is transitioning to division play by which Faulkner will play in the East Division, taking on Andrew, Brewton-Parker, Wesleyan, Life and Point twice, as those squads join Mobile and Pensacola Christian in home-and-homes with Faulkner. Its first full week of conference play sees Faulkner travel to UT Southern and Blue Mountain Christian, the two teams that handily swept the former in Pool Play of last year's SSAC tournament, picked to finish sixth and fourth, respectively, this year. The Lady Eagles return home to host BPCU and Wesleyan before traveling to take on the teams tied for seventh in the preseason poll, Life and Point.
Faulkner then travels for a two-match SSAC trip to New Orleans to take on fifth-place XULA and preseason favorite Loyola. The Gold Nuggets went 20-10 overall and finished in the Red River Athletic Conference semifinals last year, and the Wolf Pack are the defending SSAC champions and team to beat in its final season before heading to NCAA Division II after going 29-9 in 2025. The Lady Eagles then return home for arguably the biggest weekend of the regular season on Homecoming Week, as they host SSAC preseason second-place Mobile for a conference match on Thursday and then welcome third-place William Carey on Friday night as the program invites former players to celebrate Renda's career. The last three weeks of the year consist of return trips, including hosting Point and Life on November 6 and 7, the latter for Senior Day, before the SSAC Championship from November 12-14.
"This year, the conference is set up in division play," said Renda. "There are five teams that we will play home and home within our division and then we will play six crossover matches into the other division. With three new conference schools, anything is possible, and as a conference as a whole, our competition keeps getting better each and every year, only making the SSAC stand out even more on a national platform."
KEY RETURNERS
The squad lost five seniors from last year in outside hitter Charlee Jordan, DS Kolbi Bates, right side Kendall Rice and setters Mandi Hart and Ellie Cyr, in addition to 2025 Second Team All-SSAC outside Allyse Rudolph and both 2025 freshmen in Kaleigh Moss and Addison Smith. However, the eight returners offer experience and upside. Renda highlights five in particular.
"Jaylyn Strength is our returning libero, and she has really shined this pre-season!" she said. "She has come in healthy and ready to push everyone to the next level. Her quiet strength (pun intended) is contagious, and we are thankful for her leadership as a Captain. Jakaya Smith is another player who came into pre-season with a MISSION. She is filled with passion and eagerness to raise the team to a new level. She is also one of our captains this year. Our third captain is Kynsi Hazzard and she is tough as nails. No matter what, she is pushing herself to be one degree better. Like Jaylyn and Jak, she came in ready and determined to raise the bar and set the standards for our seven new players. She never settles and is always pushing for the next rep or point. Riley Deem is a fierce competitor at the net. She brings tremendous power and has grown her shot game this pre-season. She may be quiet off the court, but trust me, you know who she is on the court. One more returner who has lived in the shadows is junior Chasity Broadhead. She has shown us great confidence in her game this pre-season and competing in the setter role. She is no longer in the shadows; we see her clearly pushing and challenging to get better each day."
Strength and Hazzard are the team's two seniors. Strength had a career year as the primary libero in 2025 with 319 digs to bring her career total to 489 to go with 65 assists and 21 aces. Limited to just 11 matches last season due to injury, Hazzard scored 17 kills and 15 total blocks after racking up 304 kills, 114 blocks, 67 digs and 43 aces in two years at Southern Union State.
Smith will be suiting up for the Lady Eagles for the first time after tallying 449 kills and 353 digs playing for Calhoun CC from 2023-24. Deem, who earned All-Freshman Team honors from the SSAC in 2024, is coming off a career year in which she racked up 203 kills and 58 total blocks to bring her career totals to 302 and 105. Broadhead has 78 assists and 23 digs in two seasons so far. Other key returners include juniors outside Madison Martin and DS Anna Prempramot.
KEY NEWCOMERS
However, it is the recruiting class that has Renda truly looking forward to first serve of 2026.
"Our class of 2026 is probably one of our strongest recruiting classes we've had in for a while," Renda said. "It's also one of the largest classes we've brought in over the last three years. We brought in seven new players, basically half a team! We brought in five freshman and two transfers. The first freshman is number six, Emma Hayes. She is a middle blocker who is long and able to figure out how to put the ball in play, no matter what that she's given. We're looking forward to her excelling in the middle. Next is number nine, Jo Lundy. She is a DS/libero for us. She is small, but she is mighty all over the floor. She is quick and agile and able to give a second tempo ball with her hands accurately and efficiently. Next up we have a nearby local, number 15, Avery Dunnam. She is a tall power blocker. She does a great job of setting up her middle and/or herself to get those hands around the ball. Our fourth freshman is number 19, Emmagin Spencer. She can play on either pin for us. She brings a long power heavy arm with a great eye for hitting spots on the court. Our final freshman is number 20, Maddie Harden. Maddie is a setter from Texas to bring soft hands and great connections with her middles. We're looking forward to her growing throughout the year.
"Our first transfer comes to us from the University of West Florida. She is number 17, Olivia Kelly. She will be a setter for us this year. She brings experience, high IQ and consistency in that setting role, along with strong defense and poise on the floor. And our last new addition is a transfer from Snead State CC, Caroline Sticker. Caroline is an outside hitter/DS who brings so much strength on both sides of the ball that we look forward to utilizing her on that outside. She may be a little undersized, but she brings power when she swings."
In two years at NCAA DII powerhouse UWF, Kelly put up 65 assists and 28 digs on two Gulf South Conference Championship squads as an Argonaut. At Snead State, Sticker played middle blocker as a freshman in 2024, putting up 160 kills and 137 digs there, before transitioning to DS in 2025 and delivering 517 digs, 61 assists and 46 aces last season.
The last ride for Coach Tori Renda begins tomorrow, taking on the Rams tomorrow at 10 am before playing SUNO at noon. Live stats will not be available for tomorrow's matches, but livestream can be viewed at the link here: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/?school=southern-states-athletic-conference.
