Bob Jones volleyball team riding youth into post-season playoffs
MADISON- Youthcan be a beautiful blessing for any high school coach especially when the young talent among their team shines as well as the most experienced athletes alongside in action. Bob Jones volleyball head coach Jenny Jarrett is one of those in a leadership role who is currently experiencing the prodigious amount of athleticism from the youngest players on her squad which is currently ranked No. 2 in Alabama among Class 7A schools.
The 2025 Lady Patriots varsity squad is comprised of five members each in the senior and junior classes, but it’s the student-athletes in the underclassmen classes that are making waves as the team heads into post-season play. Those young players include three sophomores, Ella Watts, Kennedy Roseberry and Kat Dimitri, freshmen Zoe Robinson and Sophie Morgan and an eighth grader, Sophia Davis. With a current record of 32-10, Jarrett and her squad are looking for continued great efforts from the youngest on the team moving into the playoffs.
For Davis, the first eighth grader to make the varsity since 2010, who just happens to be the tallest member on the team at 6-foot, her introduction to the team was one of high expectations. She said, “The team was very welcoming to me and made me feel like a part of the team, even on the very first day of joining the squad. I remember my first match as I was very nervous, but when I made my first kill, I loved it and all of my teammates were support- ive and celebrated with me.” She has missed 13 of the team’s matches due to a foot injury, but has shown super talents by posting 38 blocks, which is second on the team, 42 kills and 18 digs in 29 of the team’s 42 matches.
“Sophia has handled being an eighth grader on varsity very well. She has a natural ability as a blocker. She is strong, and reads the ball well. She is becoming more dynamic as a hitter as well,” said Jarrett of Davis, who is nicknamed “Fi Fi,” due to the fact the program has three girls named Sophia. “She has a great personality and has taken up with the older girls very easily. We definitely missed her during her foot injury and were glad to get her back on the court. The sky’s the limit for Sophia.”
“My parents chose volleyball for me in the fourth grade as they wanted me to be active,” said Davis, who attends Journey Middle School. “I was not happy at the beginning as it took two weeks before I fell in love with the game and I feel I’ve really progressed in my play on the court. I’ve improved in blocking, transitioning, have more awareness on the court and have increased my volleyball IQ.”
For the 5-foot-11 Robinson, she was the team manager for the Discovery Middle School team prior to her joining the feeder school team in both the seventh and eighth grades where she earned All-County honors. Upon making the move to Bob Jones, her athletic endeavors were already well-known to the Patriots and she quickly fell into her place among the Lady Patriots.
“I built connections with the girls through practices at open gym time as I made my move to Bob Jones,” said Robinson, who began playing volleyball in a recreational league while in the fifth grade. “I became a starter very quickly, but I wasn’t surprised as I was confident with my talent level and running the court. I feel I’m very calm and composed and help lead the team in that way. Being taller, I see the offenses we face and tend to see any offensive threats we face. I’m good on defense and I feel my best attribute is setting the ball.”
The freshman Robinson has played in every match for the Lady Patriots this season and has accumulated 418 assists, 150 digs, 44 aces, 21 kills and six blocks. Jarrett added her thoughts on her impact-type player, as she said, “Zoe has really worked hard both this year, and before she even got to Bob Jones, specifically as a setter. She has a very calm demeanor on the court, which makes it hard to tell her age from the older girls. She has great hands, and has picked up on running a tempo offense very well. She has all the tools to be a great setter both for us, and at the next level. I am thrilled that she is in our program and I will get to work with her for several more years to come.”
In her fourth season as head coach, Jarrett also has the luxury of having a super-sophomore in Watts, who is a superb basketball player for Bob Jones and is in her first season attacking the sport of volleyball. She is currently the third leading kill producer for the squad with 117 kills and third in blocks with 37. She also has 34 digs.
The Lady Patriots seem to be loaded with youth that plays much more experienced-like and gives the squad plenty of the necessary looks to go deep into the playoffs as Bob Jones is a three-time state runner-up. Jarrett knows much of the team’s success will fall on the youth of the squad, but she is confident the raw talents that the young girls like Robinson and Davis possess will be exactly what the Lady Patriots need.
“Both of these girls have the natural gift of being tall. They also both play with such a huge presence that it is hard to pick them out as the younger players on the court. They have already made a huge impact on our team,” added Jarrett. “We definitely have pushed them to excel, and will continue, as we don’t want them to get content. However, they both definitely have a huge ceiling, and if they desire, I do see both of them being heavily recruited as they get older. All of our young players have a great work ethic, and have proven to their older teammates that they are a valuable part of our team.”
“All of our young players are coachable. We help one another. I’ve had help from our senior leaders on the team,” said Robinson, who has a 3.5 grade point average and wants to play college volleyball when the times comes.
The young Davis is an A-B student in the classroom, sings in choir and is part of her school’s theatre program. She is a self-described organized personality and loves to cook and bake. She added, “I should grow to be 6-foot-2. I’m learning a lot of volleyball knowledge by watching college volleyball and watching video of myself. I reach out to Coach Jarrett on how to be better. I’m very competitive, like to win and love to hype-up my teammates with high energy on the court. With time, I feel I could be a good team leader.”
