PM Netters Led By New Coach, Eight Returning Players
The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team has a new coach and a roster that features just one senior. But the Fighting Blues have enough talent – and even experience – to compete in the Pioneer District this fall.
Elle Kindred takes over the head coaching spot for Jilane Hall, who departed after one season in charge due to a family-related move to North Carolina. While Kindred is a 25-year-old with no previous head coaching experience, the Findlay, Ohio native has been involved with the sport since age 8, playing Division III volleyball at Bluffton University and recently serving as the junior varsity coach at Pandora-Gilboa High School, both in her home state.
Now working as a kindergarten teacher at F.W. Kling Elementary School in Buena Vista, Kindred will lean on veteran assistant coach Marcie Carte and a large contingent of varsity returners as she acclimates to her new role.
“Coaching has always been what I wanted to do. … I feel like I need to be around the game,” Kindred said. “We’re all learning together. I think they’ve adapted really well.”
Under Hall last season, the Blues finished 13-13 overall and put together a 6-4 mark in the Pioneer District. They fell to Narrows in the district semifinals and dropped a 3-2 thriller to Bath County in the third-place match, earning the No. 4 seed in the Region 1C tournament and losing to eventual Virginia High School League Class 1 state champion Giles in the regional quarterfinals.
PM must replace all-district and all-region performer Kadence Zollman, who is now a volleyball player for Division III school Shenandoah University in Winchester, as well as all-district honoree Allie Cullen. But the Blues bring back eight players with prior varsity experience – including sophomores Jorja Catlett and Presley Camden, who both earned All-Pioneer District designations as freshmen in 2025.
So the fact that PM’s 11-player roster features a lone senior, Jaelyn Manning, along with six underclassmen may be a bit misleading.
“I feel like we’re really young, but we have a lot of returning varsity players,” Kindred said. “They know the pace of the game.”
Manning will play right-side hitter for the Blues this fall. Kindred described the senior as “a very vocal leader,” praising her for helping ease the coaching transition.
In terms of on-court reps, junior Josie Martinez is the most seasoned player on the roster. A six-rotation outside hitter, she has the ability – and the green light – to swing from anywhere on the court.
Fellow juniors Sophia Bouchelle and Maddie Wade both saw significant action last fall. Bouchelle will compete at the setter position, while Wade will man the middle. Both players boast great work ethics and the eagerness to improve.
Jordyn Hostetter rounds out the Blues’ junior class. After injuries limited her availability for a good chunk of her sophomore season, the versatile player can bounce between right side and outside, or she can move to the back row.
Catlett excelled at the setter spot as a freshman, and PM will lean on her athleticism and her knowledge of the game during her second year on the varsity squad.
Camden became the Blues’ starting libero shortly into last year’s campaign, going on to join Catlett on the honorable mention all-district list. The Blues will turn to her for leadership on the back line, especially with several younger players in the mix on defense.
Another sophomore, Sophie Porterfield, returns to the varsity roster. She’ll likely see time at either pin, but the Blues can use her at multiple positions.
PM has also welcomed three newcomers to the varsity level. Sophomores Emma Coffey and Kimber Hickman are both high-energy players who are working to crack the rotation, with Coffey eying a spot on the back row and Hickman in the mix at right side. Ciara Hamilton, the only freshman on the varsity team, provides depth at both the setter and defensive specialist spots.
The Blues will operate out of a 6-2 system, with Catlett and Bouchelle serving as the two setters. Kindred, who played that position through college, will hold both players to a high standard.
“I was a setter, so I resonate with setters a lot,” the PM coach said. “As a setter, you are the quarterback of the volleyball team.”
The Blues, a Class 1 team, have an early-season schedule that is potent, featuring matchups with several larger schools: home-and-home series with Amherst County (Class 4), Rockbridge County (Class 3) and Nelson County (Class 2), as well as a home date with Class 2 squad James River.
Based on last year’s postseason, the Pioneer District could be wide open in 2026. All four Pioneer squads that qualified for the Region 1C tournament lost to Mountain Empire opposition in the quarterfinal round, suggesting that there’s a pretty level playing field in PM’s league.
Right now, though, the Blues are focused on the internal side. Kindred said that she’s looking forward to “getting to help shape the girls into better people … and also good athletes.
“My coaches have always held me to a really high standard,” she added. “I’m trying to put that into their minds: just always trying your best. I feel like if you’re trying your best, that’s all we can ask.”
Still, the Blues seem to possess the necessary ingredients for a successful season this fall.
“With the experience level – and the leadership that we have, the energy that we have… I think we could be very good,” Kindred said.
PM will open its campaign with home matches against RC on Tuesday and James next Thursday, Aug. 27. The Blues will then play at Amherst County on Monday, Aug. 31 before traveling to Nelson County on Tuesday, Sept. 1. All four nights are slated to start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m., followed by varsity action.
