Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
ALSO READ: The Natural State Sports Network’s 2025 First, Second, and Newcomer All-Star Volleyball teams
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jason Lambert, Pulaski Academy
Pulaski Academy has one of the most successful athletic programs in the state of Arkansas.
The Bruins have won 82 state championships since 1980 across 13 sports, including 11 in football.
This year, the Pulaski Academy added a volleyball championship to its ever expanding trophy case when the Lady Bruins defeated Jonesboro Westside 3-2 for the Class 4A state title on Nov. 1.
As a result of the Lady Bruins winning their first state title, Jason Lambert, who is in his second year as the head coach, is The Natural State Sports Network’s coach of the year.
“I appreciate it,” said Lambert. “I’m happy for the girls. They worked hard for it. At all of the schools I worked at, this was one of the most deserving teams.”
A year ago, the Lady Bruins finished 15-12 and 7-3 in the 4A-5. They reached the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from the 4A-South Region. After knocking off Prairie Grove 3-0 in the first round, they fell 3-2 to Wynne in the quarterfinals, which reached the state final, falling 3-0 to Brookland.
This year, they improved to 22-7. Despite finishing second in the 4A-5 at 8-2, they won the 4A-South Regional with a 3-0 victory over Baptist Prep. In the state tournament, they had a first-round bye and knocked off Wynne 3-1, Baptist Prep 3-2 and Westside 3-2 for the title.
Winning a state title was something Lambert felt his team had the ability to do, but needed to learn how to win when the pressure was on.
“I told them at the beginning, and at the end of last season, we had the talent, but didn’t have the mental approach, I told them we’re capable of winning state if we have our mindset under control. It took about a third of the way through the season before it started taking place,” said Lambert.
The Lady Bruins started the season slowly, losing to Mena in the quarterfinals at Spikefest. At the Conway Lady Cat Invitational, they lost both of their matches in pool play to Benton and Bentonville West which dropped them to the bronze bracket. After victories over Brookland and Mountain Home, they fell to Pottsville in the finals of the bronze bracket.
That loss was the last one the Lady Bruins had during the season as they won their final eight matches.
“We cleaned up our game,” said Lambert. “We developed a lot of mental toughness during the season.
“That was the message we had in regionals, just take it one game at a time. I wanted to focus on our side of the court, not what the other side was doing and we’ll get the result we wanted.”
The mental toughness showed up as the Lady Bruins won a pair of five-set matches in the semifinals and the final round of the state tournament. In fact, after trailing two sets to one vs. Westside, Pulaski Academy was behind 9-4 in the fourth set before winning 26-24 and taking the fifth set 15-13.
Lambert won a national club championship representing 501 Volley two years ago, but said this one is special.
“I think this one is more personal,” said Lambert. “The club title was the first time a club in central Arkansas ever done it. Being new to the program at PA, this meant a lot to them and myself.”
The state championship means Pulaski Academy will move to Class 5A next year thanks to the Arkansas Activities Association’s competitive equity rule. Despite moving up, Lambert doesn’t expect his team to have a drop off.
“This takes a monkey off my back, we can say we did it,” said Lambert. “Now we can go out and achieve it again and make sure we’re a dominant figure.”
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Wren Jones, Conway
The Conway Lady Wampus Cats won consecutive Class 6A state championships and a big reason for that was the play of senior outside hitter Wren Jones.
Jones, a 5-11 senior, who signed with Evansville (Ind.), set a single-season school record with 543 kills, which also gave her the school’s career record with 1,228. She had a .261 hitting percentage with 36 blocks, 17 assists and 252 digs on the season.
In addition to being named MVP of the Class 6A state tournament, she was named AVCA all-region, selected to the Class 6A state tournament team and the all-tournament team at the Lady Cat Invitational.
In postseason, she raised her play. In a 3-1 victory over Fort Smith Southside in the quarterfinals, she had 24 kills. In a 3-1 victory over Bentonville, she had 36 kills, 12 digs and 4 aces. In a 3-1 victory over Fayetteville for the state championship, she had 25 kills while hitting .278 with 14 digs with 3 blocks.
“Wren Jones has been a great player for us over the last four years,” said Conway head coach Laura Crow, who promoted Jones to the varsity as a freshman in 2022, marking the only time Crow has ever moved up a ninth grader. “She has put in a lot of work and time to develop into the six-rotation player to be a force for the Lady Wampus Cats. She has a true competitive spirit and can dial it up when the pressure is on. She has broken both the individual season and career records for kills at Conway High. Her drive and determination to be her best for her team is something I really admire.”
In addition to the season-high 36 kills she had in the semifinal victory over Bentonville, Jones had 35 kills in a 3-1 victory over Benton and had nine matches with at least 20 kills. She had a season-high four blocks in a 3-2 victory over Little Rock Central. She had a season-high 26 digs in the quarterfinal victory over Southside and had eight matches with at least 10 digs.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Olivia Ambeau, Cabot
The Cabot Lady Panthers spent seven weeks ranked No. 1 in Class 6A before falling to Fayetteville in the state tournament semifinal round.
The Lady Panthers (31-3) enjoyed a lot of highlights such as defeating 6A state champion Conway three times to win the 6A-Central and winning two of three matches against Bentonville, including one for the LRCA Classic.
One of those players who played a big role in the Lady Panthers’ success was sophomore setter/right-side hitter Olivia Ambeau, who did a little bit of everything. For the season, she had 329 kills, 35 aces, 83 blocks, 251 digs and 419 assists to be named Newcomer of the Year on The Natural State Sports Network’s All-Star team.
“Olivia had an incredible season,” said Cabot head coach Anna Robertson. “She’s been a difference maker for us, both offensively and defensively. I’m so proud of her, it says a lot about her work ethic and heart. She is the best teammate and we are excited to see her continue to grow.”
Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. She was on the AVCA Phenom Watch List and was listed by PrepDig’s Top 5.
Ambeau had 14 matches with at least 10 kills, including a season-high 21 in a 3-2 victory over Little Rock Central on Oct 9. She had seven matches with at least 10 digs, including a season-high 18 in a 3-2 victory over Central on Sept. 18 when the Lady Panthers overcame a 20-13 deficit in the fourth set. In that same match, she had a season-high 25 assists. She had a season-high 12 blocks in a 3-2 victory over Central on Oct. 9.
