Photos by Chris Todd
Story by Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s volleyball team made school history last year when the Lady Patriots won their second straight MAIS Division I state volleyball championships.
Eight seniors – Outside hitter Selah Sandridge, setter Kiera Hariel, middle hitter-opposite Alyssa Dampier, middle hitter Lily Sistrunk, middle hitter Reese Roundtree, and defense specialists Lyla Cromwell, Madeline Morlier and Sophia Villani – led MRA to the historic back to back state championships and finished with a 30-15 record and a three-set sweep of Jackson Academy in the 2025 state championship series at Mississippi Christian University in Clinton.
MRA is now at the top of MAIS volleyball after JA had won nine of the last 10 state titles, including five straight before MRA won in 2024.
MRA coach Ross Dorr – a former MRA, Southern Miss and Delta basketball player – will try for a three-peat in his sixth season as MRA’s head coach.
The Lady Patriots are off to a good start with a 4-0 record and wins over West Memphis, Ark., Pillow Academy, Winston Academy and Lamar School. MRA plays at Jackson Prep Tuesday night against former MRA assistant coach and first-year Prep head coach Elizabeth Sandridge, the mother of Selah, who graduated from MRA this past year and is playing at Jones County Junior College.
Despite losing the eight seniors, Dorr is confident his girls are up to the challenge of making a run at another state championship.
“We have always emphasized our expectation is the championship game and our goal is the trophy. (MRA has played in the last four championship games),” Dorr said. “This year is no different even though we lost several starters and reserves. The last two years the goal was achieved and that has given us more mental toughness which is very valuable in volleyball. Overall, we are a team of mostly young players as well as two veteran players (6-foot senior outside hitter and Southern Miss commitment Emerson Dorr, daughter of Ross, and senior setter/opposite hitter Ella Eatherly, the only players from the 2024 championship team) that will be constantly evolving and fine tuning our chemistry until the final whistle in our last game. We plan for that to be the 2026 MAIS Championship game.”
“Winning the past two years has definitely given us confidence, however, each year we know we have to earn that title of state champions,” Emerson Dorr said. “We are working really hard on continuing what we had last year into this season. It’s going to be tough though, since we have a few new faces in some key positions. But, we are building a great team each time we step on the court together and hopefully that will get us to where we want to be at the end of the season.”
In addition to Dorr and Eatherly, other returning starters are sophomore outside hitter Gabi Strickland, and sophomore Libero Macy Gladden. New starters are junior opposite hitter Laila Fulcher, sophomore setter Lily Ford, 6-1 freshman middle blocker Lillian Strong and 5-11 eighth-grade middle blocker Ayanna Dampier, sister of Alyssa Dampier who graduated and is playing at Southern Miss this season.
Other players expected to contribute this season are senior defensive specialist Margaret Riley, and junior pin hitter Kaloni Johnson.
