Circle Oct. 1 on your calendar.
That is the day that volleyball supremacy in Wesley Chapel will be decided, with Wiregrass Ranch traveling to Cypress Creek.
As the 2026 campaign kicks off, the Bulls and Coyotes are clearly the teams to beat, with both returning their best players from a year ago, boasting experienced rosters and strong defenses and solid setters and size at the net.
Here’s a look at all four of the teams in the Wesley Chapel area, and how they shape up for this season:
CYPRESS CREEK
Coach: Amy Strawser
Last year: 11-9, lost in first round of playoffs.
Offense: Junior outside hitter Addison Wilkes leads the way, after posting an area-best 312 kills last season, which ranked ninth in all of Class 5A. Wilkes isn’t one of those towering hitters, but at 5-foot-7 has serious hops. The taller Coyote hitters — juniors Emma Ramic and Amirah Fougere and sophomore Ember Lolley — give the Coyotes an imposing frontline, and Strawser has changed the offense to take advantage of that.
Defense: May be the strength of the team. The back row is deep. Cypress Creek is running two liberos, Elena Cupitra and Chloe Gomez , a pairing made possible by a rule change that now allows high schools to mirror the club and college two-libero system. Strawser rotates them by strength, while Charlotte Spinner, a libero last year, plays a third defensive role in the back. In the Coyotes season-opening win over Kirkland Ranch, Spinner served for a remarkable 25 straight points in the second set, after serving 15 straight in the first.
Setter: The Coyotes have two good ones in seniors Ava Hofferberth and Mia Devane. Hofferberth led the team last year with 512 assists and looked exceptional in a season-opening win over Kirkland Ranch.
Outlook: In the program’s six years of existence, the Coyotes have already been to the playoffs four times. Under new coach Amy Strawser, that string of success should continue. Strawser succeeds previous coach Angel Ramirez. Ironically, it is the second time she has done so. In her previous stint at Wiregrass Ranch, Strawser took over for Ramirez as well.
Coach says: “I’m hopeful. The girls are great, and they are willing to grow and learn. That’s all that really matters to me, honestly.”
WESLEY CHAPEL
Coach: Brittany Collison
Last year: 8-17.
Offense: The Wildcats lost their top four kill producers from a year ago and need to reload. Senior leaders Gabriella Reyes and 5-foot-11 Noel Newsome will anchor the front, and sophomore Carly Danielson, who Collison hopes follows in the footsteps of her record-setting sisters, has potential. Junior Aleyna Undar and freshman Kyla Richardson will also take on big roles at the net this season, and how they develop will be a key.
Defense: The Wildcats ceiling this year may depend on how quickly their defense and serve-receive comes together. “The defense and serve-receive has got to be on point, and we’ve got to get our setters connecting with our hitters, and then we’ll definitely be more successful,” Collison said. Reyes led the team in digs last season, right ahead of junior Bailey Garrison and Irelynn Hughes.
Setter: Collison will be relying on Garrison and Hughes to run the offense. Garrison is a softball standout and one of the volleyball team’s best athletes, leading the team with 310 assists last season. Hughes is new to the position but shows some promise. Senior Adriana Viera can step in as well, after posting 75 assists in 2025.
Outlook: The Wildcats are a few years removed from the most successful run in school history but have struggled to find that same success recently. They don’t lack for players, with a roster of 18, and eight seniors. This year might be a “better by the end of the season” type of campaign, especially if the younger players exceed expectations. The FHSAA did the Wildcats no favors in redistricting, putting them in their toughest district in years with teams like Cypress Creek, Sunlake, East Lake, Mitchell and Wharton.
Coach says: “We’ve got a couple of good leaders on the team, like Gabby Reyes, Noel Newsome. We come with a lot of experience. Defensively we’re not super strong but we’re working on that. It’s kind of a rebuilding year in general.”
WIREGRASS RANCH
Coach: Reagan Hopp
Last year: 19-7, lost in first round of playoffs.
Offense: Last year the Bulls had three freshman hitters combine for nearly 400 kills. This year they are all back and improved, says Hopp. The team boasts arguably the best player in the area in sophomore Brooklyn Lynch, an AAU All-American coming off a 200-kill season. She had 14 kills in a season-opening win over Wesley Chapel. Fellow sophomore Kinleigh Harden, who had 100 kills last year, “is a close second right now just with her power,” and Juliana Troutman (70 kills) gives the Bulls an imposing trio. But the young Bulls are also bolstered by sophomore middle Delaney Graves, freshman Eleanor Brown and senior Allyson Rankin, making for a deep unit.
Defense: Hopp describes herself as defense-oriented, and that unit did well in the win over Wesley Chapel. Wiregrass Ranch will run two liberos in Tanner Henderson and Alejandra Gonzalez. Henderson led the team last year in digs — and Lynch and Harden were second and third, a testament to their all-around skills. Senior defensive specialist Luiza Valladares is also a big part of the defensive core.
Setter: The Bulls will run with junior Ezgi Demirok and sophomore Aliah Jimenez. They were 1-2 in assists last season. “They’re great,” Hopp says. “They’re a huge part of our offense, and our offense would not be as fast as it was without them.”
Outlook: The Bulls were good last year. They may be better this year. And the future? They have seven sophomores, many who rank among the team’s best players. Despite the loss of a few key seniors, Hopp is just as optimistic this year as she was last year, her first as head coach. She thinks this is a closer, more mature team with players determined to take that next step. And she isn’t shy about laying the gauntlet down for her players.
Coach says: “The goal is definitely district finals. We should totally be in the playoffs in my opinion.”
KIRKLAND RANCH ACADEMY OF INNOVATION
Coach: Michaela Berning
Last year: This is the Explorers first season.
Offense: The new kids on the county block will try to come together in 2026, after most of the roster played at different schools last year because the Explorers didn’t have a team. One player who didn’t play elsewhere is Leticia Yanes da Silva, a freshman that will be a key to the offense according to Berning. “She is a beast,” the coach said. “She is working on her setting. She can hit very well, and she has an absolute monster serve.” Outside hitter Karsen Thompson and developing middle Annie Viamonte should be productive once the timing improves.
Defense: Berning hopes this is a team strength, though the unit has struggled early with the serve-receive game. Liberos Angela Morales Carrasco and River Hoff-Ball anchor the unit, which will need to gel and develop consistency. “They both have fantastic passing percentage,” Berning said. “They are all over the court, and they both have fantastic attitudes. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”
Setter: Some combination of Araina Jerez, Shania Harris and senior Nayari Ramirez Ayala will run the 6-2 offense. Berning said Jerez and Harris are all-around players and can be effective at the net as well.
Outlook: Welcome, Explorers. For the first few years of the school’s existence, it had no sports programs, and its students had to play elsewhere. But now, everyone is coming back home and Berning is trying to blend that mix into a cohesive team. There are roughly nine players on the Explorer roster played at other schools last year, though Berning is under the impression most of that was junior varsity ball.
Coach says: “As long as we’re fighting for each point, and making sure that we’re doing everything we can, and everyone’s on the floor for a ball, everyone is scrambling and doing the best that they can, then I will not be upset, regardless of the outcome. As long as we compete, that is what I look for.”