Not unlike most high school seniors, Hannah Holland knows where she’s going.

The UAFS-bound volleyball standout will leave one legendary coach for another next year as she transitions to college.

But first, there’s some unsettled business.

The Mavericks (18-2, 7-0) start the second half of 6A-Central play today at Conway. It’s been a special season for the Mavericks — both on the floor and off.

Good play and better chemistry is hard to come by.

“My senior group, five or six of us have been playing together since we were 12 through FSJ (Fort Smith Juniors),” Holland said. “We’re comfortable with each other.”

It didn’t take Holland and her cohorts, Emily Bass, Sarah Tolbert, Jenna Mullins and Reagan Scifres long to bond with sophomore phenoms Hannah Hogue, Aleigha Johnson and Avery Fitzgerald.

“Our sophomore group is just like us,” Holland said. “We know each other. We’re all pretty goofy, so that makes it a lot of fun. For any team to have chemistry, that is important.”

“This team has come together very nicely, and a lot of that has to do with the leadership of our seniors — Hannah Holland being one of the main ones,” Southside coach Steve Haaser said. “Our seniors recognized early on the talent of these sophomores, and realized the kind of team we could have if we could put it all together. I think these girls have been great teammates to each other, and that is something we as coaches have heavily stressed.


“Hannah has certainly been instrumental in this happening.”

The Mavericks are far from immortal, though the team’s current 15-game winning streak says otherwise.

The Mavericks play two of the top 6A-Central team this week and next — Conway on Tuesday and North Little Rock on Oct. 2.

“I think like a lot of good teams, you tend to get comfortable,” Holland said. ”(But) I think to win and be successful, you have to keep focused — anything can happen.

“We can’t get too comfortable in the spotlight.”

The 6-foot-1 Holland, who committed to UAFS back in February, where she’ll join forces with legendary Lions coach Jane Sargent, is a byproduct of Tennessee.

Her parents, Kendra and Brian Holland, relocated the family from Memphis to Fort Smith in 2008 when Hannah was just 5.


When she was younger, Hannah initially wanted to play basketball — but switched to volleyball to avoid extra running.

Of course, she soon learned volleyball wasn’t immune to extra running, either.

“I didn’t like basketball because of all the running, but then i got to volleyball and there was jut as much running,” Holland said. “With volleyball, you have to be very intelligent. You have to know when to move, when to react. I love the intensity; it’s loud and extremely intense.

“I kind of grew out of basketball when I started doing FSJ.”

On the heels of a strong junior campaign, Holland hasn’t missed many beats in 2018.

“Hannah is having a solid senior year for us,” Haaser said. “Her hitting has gotten a lot stronger. She is really hitting hard and delivers a heavy ball to the other side. We are using her more on the outside this year, and she has been effective hitting from all three front row positions.”
