Consistent Lady Coogs Hungry for Another Playoff Berth

One of the most consistent pieces in Abilene ISD athletics is the girls’ volleyball program at Cooper High School. The Lady Cougars have reached the playoffs in eight of the last 10 years, including last year when they gave 17th-ranked Amarillo High everything it wanted in the bi-district round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

The biggest reason for the Lady Cougars’ consistency is that they’ve been led for the last 20 years by head coach Nora Campbell, who in those 20 years has led her team to 354 victories and multiple trips to the state playoffs.

Last season was no different as the Lady Coogs finished fourth in District 4-5A  and earned another trip to the playoffs. Cooper lost eight letterwinners off that team, including first team All-District 4-5A selection Mattie Tibbets and second team selections Karrigan Parrott, Skyla Stark, and Lune Finch. 

However, Campbell is confident in the returning players and that they’ll be able to make it nine trips to the playoffs in the last 11 years. Those key returning players are senior outside hitter Jazlyn Hatcher (honorable mention all-district in 2022), senior middle blocker Abigail Pena-Perez, senior rightside hitter J’Lee Sloan, and junior outside hitter Am Walzer. Sloan is returning after missing the 2022 season because of a knee injury.

That returning experience, along with key newcomers Maeley Siglock (middle blocker), Rachel Sprencel (outside hitter), and Cayelyn Fault (setter), give the Lady Coogs hope that they will be back in the playoffs once again in 2023.

The Lady Cougars open their season Aug. 4-5 at Cooper Gym before going to Keller Fossil Ridge for two matches on Tuesday, Aug. 8. 

Below is a season preview capsule and a brief Q&A with Coach Campbell.

Q&A with Coach Campbell

Q: You lost a lot of experienced players from last year’s team; how have you seen the girls you’re counting on to replace them progress during the spring and summer?

Campbell: “I have seen a sense of excitement and hunger from our younger players as they begin to take over the roles of the players we lost from last year’s team. They have approached the offseason and summer workouts with a sense of urgency to elevate their game to ensure they are successful at the next level. I love that our girls have created their team personality and are connecting on the court. They have big shoes to fill, but they are doing it in a way that is authentic to the new team’s attributes, and it has been fun to watch from a coach’s standpoint.”

Q: This is a very tough district, so to make the playoffs out of this district is a great accomplishment. How much of a grind is every Tuesday and Friday in this district?

Campbell: “Every year when we prepare for our playoff game, we take time to reflect on how special it is that we are getting to participate in the playoffs.  There are so many great teams on our schedule each year that do not get that experience, and I think it deepens our kid’s appreciation for the playoff experience when they see how hard it is to get there. Grind is a great word to describe the district portion of our season. Our district had no weak teams, with Lubbock Cooper and Abilene High making it to the regional tournament, Wylie going two rounds deep before losing a heartbreaker, and our team playing a close match with No. 17 Amarillo High. But what our tough district has done is prepare us all for the playoff competition we will see. I am proud of our district and the volleyball that is being showcased in the state playoffs. So how do we grind through the district season? Well, our most successful teams at Cooper have been focused, determined, and have a clear vision of what they are preparing for each week. But those qualities don’t guarantee wins; you must handle adversity, believe in your teammates, and play great volleyball during district play. Our returners know what the playoff experience feels like and what it takes to get there. That is more than our 2022 team had going into their season, so we are excited to share that with our new players.” 

Q: Does it seem like 20 years that you’ve been the head coach at Cooper? What are some things you look back on, and are you still as excited about a season starting in your 20th year as you were in your first?

Campbell: “Not at all! Twenty years sounds so crazy because my memories of all the teams and players that have come through Cooper since being here are still so vivid in my mind and my heart … as crazy as that sounds. Things I look back on, no doubt, are the lifelong relationships I have built with players and coaches. Being involved in athletics is not an easy lifestyle, and the connections you make when you go through the daily grind together, bond you forever. You get to know each other more deeply when you spend as much time together as we do. The texts I get from former players just saying thank you for impacting my life and preparing me to succeed beyond high school keep me going. They typically come with impeccable timing, usually after a hard day, when I need to hear that I am making a difference in some small way.

“As far as staying excited about each season 20 years in, well, that’s an easy answer: there is a competitive fire in my DNA that does not burn out. Any player or coach who has been around me for long knows that I am very determined, have an active mind, and am always in preparation mode when it comes to my job. It’s how my brain works and reflects how I tackle each year with the same grit and determination, whether in year one or twenty. Something that has stuck with me daily since leaving college and entering the workforce is someone telling me to find something to do in life that makes me jump out of bed and want to take on the day. As cliché as that may sound, I wake up with a true sense of purpose every day because I am responsible for making sure that the next generation of kids get the same great high school experience I had, both in my classroom duties and on the court. Every morning I wake up knowing that 160 kids need me to be at my best, and that is what keeps me excited every day that I walk through the doors of Cooper High School.”