Mavs volleyball opens 2026 with renewed excitement

MOSES LAKE — With each new season brings a lot of excitement for what lies ahead. Much is the same for the 2026 Moses Lake Mavericks (9-7) as they gear up for the first game of the season on Thursday.  

“Each team is different, and what we're trying to do is just look at the girls that we have and put them in positions that they're going to be successful,” Head Coach Krystal Trammell said. “We're really excited with the group that we have. Program wide the talent is fantastic. We're just anxious to get started, and these girls are ready to prove it.”  

As they’ve started practices, Trammell said there’s been an influx of talent entering the program this year.  

“We had a huge turnout again, and I know it was really difficult decisions of who to keep and who to cut,” Trammell said. “That's always difficult for us to do, but the talent coming in and just program wide – it's fantastic. We're seeing a higher-level skill set come in, so we're very excited about this year and the future.”  

As they look ahead to their home opener against Hanford on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Trammell and the Mavericks also foresee another year of a tough Big Nine Conference. 

“Wenatchee will always be a contender, as is Davis, West Valley and Eastmont – I don't believe the league lost a lot. We lost a little bit more, and so we're taking this year to get back onto the court and do what we need to do, and its great right now,” she said.  

Despite being in a conference full of teams reloading this season, Trammell is confident in who she returns from last year's team, such as Madison Whitwer.  

“She's our captain, and she's been on varsity for four years, and she leads in a great, fantastic way,” the coach said. “The girls have really gelled so far. We have a nice core of returners coming back, and then we've added some younger athletes to fill some spots that we had open, and so I definitely think that court time will benefit them.” 

When the Mavericks take the court this season, it’ll be important to find consistency in order to stack wins, Trammell said.  

“We're developing ourselves, developing our culture, developing who they are, who they feel they are, and so it's playing together,” she said. “It's consistency. It's a lot of trust. They trust each other early on, and so it's pretty amazing to see that. They rely on each other, and they talk a lot, and so just all of it together, consistency is going to be a big deal this year.”  

One of the traditions the Mavericks volleyball squad has is naming honorary captains throughout the season for their home games. With their first game being at home, they already have their picks selected. 

“We have Sheila Kries, our head principal (and) we have Karen Schotzko, who's an assistant principal, and then we have Thomas Jay, who is also an assistant principal. We thought ‘why not start with our admin on the bench and get the school spirit and the school year started,’” Trammell said. 

Stay tuned for the Friday edition of the Columbia Basin Herald for the Fall Sports Preview, where each Basin school will be represented.