Kee volleyball team returns eight letterwinners, will benefit from some new yet familiar faces for its 2026 campaign under first-year head coach Kelly Welsh
2026 Kee volleyball team ... Left to right - Front row: Brooke Little, Emily Bailey, Alicia Colsch, Josy Connelly, Brynn Connelly, Peyton Foutch; Middle row: Ashlyn Stark, Berkley Wilwert, Evelynn Dibert, Regan Troendle, Rylee Mudderman; Back row: Layla Mathis, Lilah Strong, Grace Hornseth, Maddie Mauss, Keirah Stuttgen. Not pictured: Alexus Rowan, Nyomi Jones, Ella Renk, Maddie Martin, Mallory McKee, Areona Claycomb. Photo by Danielle Potter.
2026 Kee volleyball returning letterwinners ... Left to right: Josy Connelly, Layla Mathis, Alicia Colsch, Grace Hornseth, Maddie Mauss, Regan Troendle. Not pictured: Nyomi Jones and Alexus Rowan. Photo by Danielle Potter.
Even with eight returning varsity letterwinners this season, the 2026 Kee volleyball team will still have an abundance of new faces - at least to the high school volleyball court - to try and make this fall’s campaign the best it can be. Coming off of a winless season last fall and in the grips of a five-season stretch with no more than two match wins during any of those campaigns, the combination of those varsity veterans and a renewed look from the top down for this season’s squad is looking to change that recent trend.
The change at the top for Kee volleyball comes in head coach Kelly Welsh. The former Kelly Dibert is a 2004 graduate of Kee High School, where she played volleyball for the Lady Hawks during her high school career. She also brings experience coaching youth volleyball within local programs to the helm of the varsity level of play.
Leading the welcome wagon for the former Hawk netter within the collection of 22 young ladies taking the volleyball court this season in grades ninth through 12th will be those eight letterwinners, with the largest representations coming from the most veteran class and the least veteran class. Seniors Alicia Colsch, Grace Hornseth, Nyomi Jones and Regan Troendle headline that veteran group, with junior Alexus Rowan also bringing back multiple years of varsity experience, and sophomores Josy Connelly, Layla Mathis and Maddie Mauss returning after gaining enough varsity experience in their first season of high school volleyball last fall to earn a letter.
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