OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – After a 2024 season that saw Johnson County Community College finish runner-up at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Women's Volleyball Championship, the Cavaliers have been picked second in the 2025 NJCAA Division II Preseason Women's Volleyball Poll.
Defending national champion Cowley is ranked No. 1 in the 2025 preseason poll, receiving all nine first-place votes. Cowley and JCCC are followed by Heartland Community College at No. 3, Kansas City Kansas Community College at No. 4 and Parkland Community College at No. 5.
Under the direction of head coach Jennifer Ei, the Johnson County volleyball program has been ranked to open a season 16 times in 18 season, 14 times in the Top-10 and 11 in the Top-5 including the No. 1 spot in 2011 and 2021. She has also guided 13 teams to a berth in the NJCAA D-II National Tournament, highlighted by a national title in 2020 and runner-up finishes in 2008, 2010 and 2024.
Expectations for the program are to return to nationals again in 2025 and Ei expects her team to noticed for their all-our defensive effort.
JCCC returns two players from last season, headlined by defensive specialist/libero Carlie Martin, who was named to the NJCAA D-II National All-Tournament Team last season. She led the team, ranked second in the conference and 22nd in the NJCAA with 652 digs. That total ranks sixth on JCCC's season chart.
"Carlie will be a strong presence for us in the back row again this year and teams will hate to face her this season," said Ei. "She has really started to flourish as a leader on our team."
The other returnee is middle/right-side hitter Avery Ringgenberg. She played in 21 matches in 2024 and finished with 48 kills, but this year the Ei expects her to be a key factor to the offense was a middle blocker as well as supplement the defense with her blocking ability at the net. Ei said Ringgenberg worked extremely hard in the off season to improve her game and make an impact her sophomore year.
"Our returning sophomores are doing an excellent job establishing a great team culture so for us in 2025," Ei said. "They have made sure everyone on the team is always giving 100 percent effort and that they are bought into what JCCC volleyball is and what it means to be a Cavalier."
Ei also added two transfers NCAA Division-I UMKC, middle/right-side hitter and outside hitter/defensive specialist Brooke Boyer and Lauren Roediger. Boyer made 14 starts and played in 28 matches for the Roos. She tallied 142 digs and 21 aces. Roediger redshirted last fall and transferred at semester to train with JCCC in the spring. Both are expected to be impact performers this season.
"Brooke has proven to us that she can score both in-system and out-system," said Ei. "Her knowledge of the game and ball control will only help our team to be even more dynamic. Lauren trained hard last spring and proved to us that she is a gamer when it comes down to crunch time. She knows how to work hard and hold herself and teammates accountable on the court."
Ei has added 10 other true freshmen to the roster, and all will have an opportunity to showcase their skillsets to help the Cavaliers add another chapter to the legacy of succuss under Ei's leadership.
Setter Campbell Chabot out of Seaman High in Topeka, Kan., will be key in JCCC' setting core. She is quick, aggressive and runs a very successful offense. At Seaman she was a two-time 5A All-State and three-time All-United Shawnee County selection while helping her team qualify for the Kansas State Tournament all four years highlighted by a state title her junior year, the first in program history.
Chabot's teammate at Seaman, outside/right-side hitter Ava Esser also has high expectations. An All-State and three-time all-conference selection, Essar has a cannon for an arm. In addition to helping the Vikings win a state title in volleyball, she also helped the basketball program win state her junior year as well and finish runner-up her senior year while garnering All-State accolades.
The other incoming freshmen are outside/right-side hitter Annika Black (Rock Bridge HS/Columbia, Mo.), middle/right-side hitter Alana Brewster (Silver Lake HS/Silver Lake, Kan.), defensive specialist/libero Reese Daugherty (Bishop Carroll Catholic HS/Wichita, Kan.), defensive specialist/libero Adira Ewy (Eudora HS/Eudora, Kan.), outside/right-side hitter Adalyn Hemphill (Eudora HS/Eudora, Kan.), setter Cami Roberts (Socastee HS/Myrtle Beach, S.C.), outside hitter/defensive specialist Lily Waters (Derby HS/Derby, Kan.) and defensive specialist/libero Kennedie Witthaus (Hermann HS/Hermann, Mo.).
Black played one varsity season as a prep helping Rock Bridge to a runner-up finish at Districts her junior year. She also played for three different club teams. Ei says Black has a very powerful arm swing as well as an arsenal of shots. She also is versatile enough to play either pin and has solid ball control.
Touted by the Topeka Capital-Journal as a player to watch entering her senior year, Brewster was a two-time All-Shawnee County selection and helped her team win Regionals and place third at the Kansas 3A State Tournament her junior year. She also played for the Topeka Saints, a highly successful club team that posted two top-10 national finishes. Ei says Brewster has a tremendous work ethic and a drive to push herself.
Daugherty was twice selected as an All-Greater Wichita Athletic League performer and earned All-Metro her senior year after helping Bishop Carroll to a Sectional Championships and runner-up finishes at Regionals and conference. A high energy player, Daughter has a great serve and solid platform in serve receiving.
Ewy is a legacy to the program as her sister Sophia played for the Cavaliers in 2022 and 2023. She earned three letters, staring one season at Eudora. Ewy has the ability to play multiple positions in the back and that versatility should lead to opportunities to see the floor.
Hemphill was a two-time All-Frontier League selection and tallied 429 digs over her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. She is a versatile player on the floor and has the ability to play setter in addition to outside/right-side hitter. Hemphill is fast and explosive off the ground as an attacker and has a good read for the game as a setter.
Roberts was a two-year starter at Socastee and had a breakout year as a junior, posting career high in assists (502), digs (94), kills (51), aces (38) and blocks (20). Ei describes her as a very physical player at the net as a setter and sets a great block. Her height (6-0) and arm swing also allows her to be looked at as an attack this season.
Waters was a four-year starter at Derby and a two-time All-Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League selection. She tallied 759 kills, 527 digs and 78 aces over her four varsity seasons. Ei says she is one over the team's more consistent attackers. Waters quickness in defense, aggressive serve and solid platform will allow her to push for some time as a six-rotation player this season.
Witthaus was a two-time Missouri Class 2A All-State selection and three-time All-Area performer at Hermann. She helped the Bearcats win three District and Sectional titles, place runner-up at state her junior year and fourth her senior year. She closed out her career as the program's all-time digs leader with 1, 398. Ei says Witthaus makes some amazing reads defensive reads and is a player who truly believes she can touch any ball. Her defensive effort helps to elevate the play of others and her hustle in contagious.
The 2025 schedule 13 matches against teams ranked in the preseason poll beginning with in their opening weekend in Rockford, Illinois. After opening the season Friday, August 22 against Wabaunsee, the Cavaliers will face No. 12 Grand Rapids later on Friday, and No. 10 Pensacola State and No. 6 Gulf Coast State on Saturday, August 23. They are scheduled to take on No. 15 Des Moines Area in their home opener on Friday. August 29. The 10 matches are against No. 11 Sauk Valley (Sept. 5), No. 7 Kirkwood (Sept. 6), No. 1 Cowley (Sept. 17), No. 19 Central (Sept. 19), No. 8 Illinois Central (Oct. 10), No. 18 McHenry County and No. 18 McHenry County (Oct. 10), No. 3 Heartland and No. 5 Parkland (Oct. 11) and No. 4 Kansas City Kansas (Oct. 15).