For the past several seasons, the Wiley Lady Panthers have been a young volleyball team learning, developing and gaining valuable varsity experience along the way.
In 2026, head coach Ashley Tixier believes the time has come for that experience to begin paying dividends.
Tixier enters her fourth season as head coach of the Wiley program with something coaches rarely have—the entire starting lineup back from a year ago. The Lady Panthers graduated no seniors and lost no starters from a team that finished 8-15 overall and placed third in the league.
That continuity has created plenty of optimism as Wiley prepares for the new season.
“We are returning all of our starters and key players from last season,” Tixier said. “Having that experience back gives us an opportunity to change up our rotation and find ways to make us stronger and more balanced this year.”
At the center of that experienced group is senior Jacee Kravig, who will be utilized as both a setter and middle hitter.
“Jacee is a leader on the court and someone we want touching the ball on nearly every play,” Tixier said. “She is a strong server and blocker, and her hitting has improved tremendously over the summer.”
Kravig’s ability to do several things well gives Tixier considerable flexibility when putting together a rotation.
“Her versatility will allow us to use her in several ways, and she will be an important part of both our offense and defense this season.”
Junior Lylah Reinhardt provides Wiley with another versatile option at setter and middle hitter and figures to play a major role in the Lady Panther offense.
“Lylah has great hands, both as a setter and at the net blocking, and she is one of our strongest hitters,” Tixier said. “She is also a leader on the court and will be a big part of our offense this season.”
Two more seniors, Kynlee Dechant and McKenzie Mapes, give Wiley additional experience.
Dechant returns at right-side hitter, where Tixier expects her consistency to be valuable.
“Kynlee is a consistent passer who gives us strong attacks from the right side,” she said. “She also has a good serve and brings consistency and experience to the court.”
Mapes could see one of the more significant changes in her responsibilities after serving as Wiley’s libero last season. Tixier is considering ways to take advantage of Mapes’ athletic ability at the net as well as in the back row.
“McKenzie was our libero last season, but this year we are looking at different ways to utilize her,” Tixier said. “She is a smart player at the net with great jumping ability, and if her hitting continues to develop, we would like to see her play all the way around.”
Tixier added, “Her athleticism and volleyball IQ give us several options as we work through our rotation.”
That word—options—could become an important theme for the Lady Panthers.
Junior Sage Cole is another player capable of handling several responsibilities as a setter and right-side hitter.
“Sage gives us a lot of versatility in our rotation,” Tixier said. “She can split time in the front row, serves as a secondary setter, and attacks from the right side. Her ability to fill multiple roles gives us more options with our lineup and allows us to make adjustments depending on what we need on the court.”
Junior Gaige Pankey returns as a strong outside hitter, but Wiley is working to expand her responsibilities as well.
“Gaige is a strong outside hitter, and we are looking at expanding her role this season,” Tixier said. “We are working with her on middle blocking as another option, which could give us more flexibility in our rotation and create additional playing opportunities for her.”
Sophomore Anistin Gonzales is another hitter Tixier expects to continue developing after gaining valuable experience as a freshman.
“Anistin has developed into a strong hitter, especially for a sophomore,” Tixier said. “Her passing continues to improve, and she is getting much better at reading the ball and anticipating plays.”
Tixier believes Gonzales’ development could eventually make her another complete player in Wiley’s lineup.
“As she continues to gain confidence and experience, we expect her to become an even stronger all-around player for us.”
Fellow sophomore Danikah Pizarro is also pushing for an expanded role after making strides during the offseason.
“Her passing has improved a lot through summer ball, and that improvement gives us another option as we work to strengthen our rotation,” Tixier said. “We are excited to see her continue to gain confidence and take on a bigger role this season.”
Junior Randi Weber is another returning player Tixier believes can contribute more this fall.
“We feel she can step into a larger role and help strengthen our lineup,” Tixier said.
Juniors Layla Hoover and Hailey Pearson both saw varsity action as back-row substitutes last season and return to provide Wiley with additional defensive depth.
The Panthers also have a sizable group of newcomers and younger players adding depth to the program. Junior Kodie Lewis and sophomores Tanaya Walker and Karlee Weber join the group, along with freshmen Tenley Burkhart, Preslee Cathcart, Alyssa Darnell, Lacy Jones, Taylor Reeder, Kailynn Salcedo and Paisley Weeks.
“We are excited about the additional depth these players bring to our program and look forward to seeing how they develop and contribute throughout the season,” Tixier said.
While Wiley has numerous possibilities offensively, Tixier believes the identity of this team will begin on the defensive side of the net.
“Our greatest strength is going to be our defense and our desire to get every ball up,” she said. “This group is willing to work hard and fight to keep plays alive. We want to be a team that makes our opponents earn every point.”
For that defense to reach its potential, however, the Lady Panthers will need to become more vocal on the court.
“Communication is an area we continue to work on,” Tixier said. “We sometimes struggle with talking consistently on the court, so we are really emphasizing communication in practice. As our communication improves, I think it will make our already strong defense even better.”
That defense will be tested against some quality league opponents, particularly Springfield and South Baca.
“Springfield and South Baca will be two of the toughest teams in our league,” Tixier said. “Both have some really strong hitters, so our defense, blocking, and communication will be important when we face them.”
For Wiley, however, the 2026 season represents something more than simply another year of development.
The current senior group entered the program when the Lady Panthers were young and inexperienced. They have gone through the growing pains together, and Tixier believes the combination of experience, offseason work and a deeper lineup gives Wiley an opportunity to turn those lessons into victories.
“We are excited for this season and ready to see what this group can accomplish,” Tixier said. “Our goal is to make the postseason. I know that is every team’s goal, but we have been a young team since these seniors were freshmen and this year we finally have that experience on the court.”
Perhaps most encouraging for Wiley is that Tixier doesn’t appear committed to simply putting last year’s lineup back on the floor and expecting different results. With players capable of handling multiple positions, the Lady Panthers can experiment with combinations designed to improve their attack while maintaining what should be a strong defensive foundation.
“We return all of our starters, our players have put in a lot of work over the summer, and we are looking at different rotations to make us stronger,” Tixier said.
There is still work ahead, but after several seasons of building toward this moment, expectations have changed in Wiley.
“We know we still have work to do,” Tixier said, “but we feel like this is the year we can take that next step and compete for a postseason opportunity.”
