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Kyle Parmley
North Super Regional Volleyball
Hoover head coach Amanda Wood celebrates during the North Super Regional on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Finley Center in Hoover. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Kyle Parmley
North Super Regional Volleyball
Hoover's Lydia Moseley (9) readies for the point during the North Super Regional on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Finley Center in Hoover. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
The Hoover High School volleyball team enters this season with six seniors who are, in coach Amanda Wood's estimation, unlike any group she's had before, not for their talent but for how much they genuinely like each other.
"This is probably the first group where they all seem to genuinely like each other," Wood said at the preseason OTM Media Day. "There's been a couple drills that have been tough that we've really had to band together, but for the most part, these are thick as thieves. I mean, they genuinely like each other. And I think that may be an X factor that we've never had."
Most of those six seniors are settling into new roles this fall. Abby Tingle has shifted from right side to a six-rotation outside hitter, and Emory Congleton has moved from right side to middle. Jenna Washington returns at libero, Lydia Moseley at outside and Ava Shofner as a defensive specialist and setter. Natalie Caine rounds out the senior class.
Brynn Toenes is the only returner playing the same position she did a year ago, running the offense at setter.
"I think that we've all definitely stepped up in our role as a senior. Now that we're the older girls, I feel like we’ve taken in the younger girls and made them feel more comfortable at practices and things that they haven't done before in person," Congleton said.
"We're going to figure it out as we go," Wood said. "And I feel like we've got a great foothold. We're not as near as good as we're going to be in a month or two. So that's positive."
Hoover is looking to move past a five-set loss to Hewitt-Trussville in last season's regional tournament, a result Wood said still lingers with the group.
"We did not play our best on the day that it mattered, and we were eliminated much earlier than we anticipated," Wood said. "We did not handle the area tournament like we needed to. We had too many distractions."
Wood said fixing that starts with an emphasis most programs overlook: out of system moments.
"It's been a 90% of the game is played out of system and I don't think that we as a program have focused on it enough," Wood said. "It has become the starting point of every practice."
The Bucs will lean on that senior class to set the tone as the season builds toward the postseason. Wood said the group's chemistry has carried over from a preseason built on team bonding, including an annual trip to the Shrimp Festival tournament in Gulf Shores each fall, where the team stays together and closes the season with a team talent show.
Wood said fans should expect an energetic team on the court this fall.
"You're going to see a lot of energy from this group," Wood said.
Kendall Wilkins, Ciane Moore, Corrie Bennett, Finley Toenes, Makenzie McAlister, Lizeth Galvan and Rian Kinlaw round out the varsity roster.
Hoover opens the season Aug. 20 with a tri-match against Gulf Shores and Homewood before the Juanita Boddie Tournament. The Bucs also host Thompson, Spain Park and Homewood again in a rematch, along with road trips to Gardendale, Helena and Oak Mountain, and area matchups against Hewitt-Trussville, Tuscaloosa County and Vestavia Hills determine area tournament seeding.
The area tournament is set for Oct. 15, followed by super regionals at the Finley Center Oct. 21-23 and the state tournament at the Birmingham CrossPlex Oct. 28-30.
