Paige Huddleston

18 National Navy Head Coach

Paige Huddleston grew up in Parkersburg, Iowa where she developed a passion for volleyball watching her mom coach and playing club from a very young age. Paige and her family moved to southwest Missouri in 2008 where she attended Aurora High School graduating in 2012. In high school, Paige was a varsity starter all 4 seasons earning Academic All-State honors each year and played high level club all 4 years placing 13th at the Girls Junior National Championships in 2012. Through years of playing she gained extensive knowledge and experience of volleyball.

 

After high school she continued her volleyball career at Seminole State College in Oklahoma and College of the Ozarks in Missouri, earning MCAC Scholar Athlete honors. During her time at C of O she coached a variety of teams for Club Bear, expanding her knowledge of the game and acquiring experience as a young coach. In 2015, Paige graduated from C of O with Magna Cum Laude honors and two bachelor's degrees, Agricultural Business and Animal Science. She spent several years working in Guthrie, Texas for the Four Sixes Ranch before moving back home to Cassville, Missouri. 

 

In 2022, Paige took the helm as Head Coach of Cassville Volleyball and continues to grow the program. She also returned to coaching club at Apex Volleyball, starting her 4th season this year.

 

Paige currently resides in Cassville, Missouri with her husband Bryce and two sons, Briggs Rowdy and Jhent Michael. 

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Deirdre Smith

17 National Navy Head Coach

Coach Smith has coached for Club Bear/Apex for over 25 years.  She has taken several teams to the Girls Junior National Championships and won the Salt Lake City National qualifier in the USA division in 2023. Deirdre is CAP 2 Certified and has attended gold medal square coaches' training.

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Background: 

 

Deirdre grew up playing both soccer and volleyball all four years of high school. She was First Team All-Northern for soccer and volleyball, and was the league MVP, team MVP, and top server.   Deirdre went on to play volleyball at Evangel and was voted the Most Improved Player in 1993. She graduated from Evangel with a degree in physical education and obtained a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education from Missouri State University.

 

Deirdre has an extensive coaching career in both junior high and high school.  She was the middle school volleyball coach at Reed Middle School for 19 years and JV coach at Parkview for 2 years.  Her high school coaching experience started as the varsity head coach at Springfield Catholic High School for 4 years until she moved over to Hillcrest High school where she is entering her 7th year as the varsity head coach.  Deirdre is married to Chris and has three daughters.  Her oldest, Mackenzie, will be a junior at Nelson University in Texas where she plays volleyball.

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Her favorite quote is: "Most people get excited about games, but I've got to be excited about practice because that's my classroom" -Pat Summit

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Chris Smith

17 National Navy Assistant 

Bio Coming Soon

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Kiley Alumbaugh

 17 National Red Head Coach

​​Kiley is entering her 14th year of coaching club volleyball.   During her time coaching club she, coached a wide variety of age groups and skill levels.  In addition to coaching club she also was the varsity coach at East Newton for one year and freshman/varsity assistant for two years at Mt Vernon High School.

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Background:

Kiley attended Willard High School and played club volleyball for Club Bear during her time as a high school athlete. Her senior year she received first team all district and committed to play volleyball at Evangel University.  During her four years at Evangel, Kiley primarily played DS/Libero.   She graduated from Evangel University where she majored in Early Childhood Education.  In addition Kiley went on to earn her masters in Literacy through Missouri State University. 

 

Kiley is currently teaches title reading at Mt Vernon and is a Momma to her two beautiful children. She is excited to build relationships and watch her players grow and develop as both players and people. 

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Abbie Lane

16 National Navy Head Coach

Coach Lane is entering her sixth year of coaching at Apex.  Coach Lane and her teams earned a bid to Girls Junior National Championships for 4 straight years while coaching at Apex. Prior to coaching at Apex, Abbie was the head coach at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City for 6 years.  While in KC, she also coached for the MAVS organization for many years and one season led her 12-1's team to a GJNC second place finish!!   

 

Background:

After graduating from St Mary's High School, Abbie went on to play volleyball at the University of Kansas for four years.  She primarily was an outside hitter as well as a defensive specialist for the Jayhawks.  After graduating with a degree in Sports and Fitness Management, she married her husband Ryan and eventually moved to Springfield with her three children.  Abbie brings years of experience on the court, as both a player and a coach.

 

 In addition to being a mom and volleyball coach, Abbie is a Certified Youth Exercise Specialist and NASM Certified Personal Trainer.  

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Kara Fodge

16 National Red Head Coach

Coach Fodge has been coaching at the junior high and club level for 6 years and will be entering her 7th year of coaching.  Kara played one year at Evangel as a starting freshman outside before suffering a season ending injury.  Instead of continuing to play in college after her injury, she decided to pursue her passion for teaching others and began coaching. 

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Background

Kara graduated from Willard High school where she was a standout 6 rotation outside.  She earned the following honors at Willard during her time there where her jersey is now retired in the halls of Willard High:

3x All-State 6 rotation Outside, 4x All-District team, 3x All-Conference First team, 3x All-Region First Team.

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Kara has been married for almost five years and is a stay at home mom to a 1 year old little boy who keeps her on her toes at all times! She enjoy playing volleyball with friends in her spare time and exploring all different kinds of places. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and creating new memories! Recently Kara moved back to the Springfield area after living in North Carolina the past two years where her husband served in the Army.

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Kennedy Hammit

TBA

Kennedy is entering her 5th year of coaching at Apex. She is a Willard High School alumni, where she received All-District honors (2015-2017) and helped lead her team to four back-to-back District Championships. Following high school, Kennedy attended College of the Ozarks where she continued her volleyball career as an outside hitter. After transferring, she graduated from Missouri State University in 2022. Kennedy returned to Willard as the freshman volleyball coach for one season before taking on her current position as the manager of Dynamic Body, a Pilates and wellness studio. She got married in October of 2023, and resides in Nixa with her husband and 2 dogs. She loves staying active, being social and doing anything creative! Her favorite part about coaching volleyball is not only competing and developing better athletes, but growing young female leaders on and off the court. Kennedy is excited to build relationships and create a positive volleyball experience for her team!

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Brooke Gabriella

16 Modified National Blue Head Coach

This will be Coach Gabriella's 4th year coaching at Apex. In her lifetime Brooke has coached for 17 years at a mix of different clubs, as an assistant at Cherokee, Kickapoo, and Hickory Hills.  She also coached one year at a local college. 

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Background

Brooke has been playing or coaching volleyball since she was 12 years old. She went to Cherokee Middle School, Kickapoo High School, and then continued her volleyball career at Baptist Bible College where she majored in Business Management. Brooke played for Club Bear (now Apex) throughout her entire club experience. She has been with her husband Andy for 15 years and lives in Nixa with their 6 dogs! She is an accountant at a construction/rental office and the manager of 3 self storages in Springfield. In her free time, besides volleyball of course, she love being outdoors, kayaking, hiking, and camping.

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Ryen Willhite

15 National Navy Head Coach

Coach Willhite has previously coached 4 years of club volleyball at the 14-17s age groups, as well as completing a season as the varsity assistant coach at Lamar High School. Ryen coached our 14 National Navy team last year in her first year with Apex. In her free time, she has helped with preseason coaching at Coffeyville Community College, William Jewell College, and Labette Community College.

 

Background

Ryen grew up in Lamar, MO where she attended Lamar High School and graduated in 2020. While in high school, Ryen was a 6-rotation outside hitter on the varsity volleyball team all 4 years. At Lamar, she received All-Conference and All-District honors her junior and senior years. Following high school, she continued her volleyball career at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas as an outside hitter.

 

Currently, she is a second-year graduate student at Missouri State University working to get her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy. When she is not studying or coaching, she loves to spend time with her black lab, Maggie!  Ryen is super excited to create new relationships and help many more youth girls continue to grow their love for volleyball!

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Chloe Regier

15 Modified National Red Head Coach

Coach Regier is entering her second year of coaching at Apex.  Chloe was recently named the 8th grade coach at Republic Middle School. 

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Meredith Keisker

15 Regional Navy Head Coach

Meredith coached 4 seasons of club volleyball, one being with a team from Kansas while in college and the rest being with Apex. 

 

Background: 

Coach Meredith played club volleyball for Club Bear from ages 11-18. She graduated from Springfield Catholic High School where she played setter and outside / right side hitter throughout her high school career. After high school, she played 2 seasons of volleyball as a defensive specialist at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, KS before moving back home to Springfield to start nursing school. Meredith graduated with an ASN degree from Cox College and later went on to complete her BSN. She has been a nurse for 4.5 years now and worked in a pediatrics clinic before having her son. She has been a stay at home mom and decided to jump back into the coaching world and join Apex again this  season while staying home with her 8th month old.  We are excited to have Coach Meredith back in the gym.

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Trisha Rapien

15 Regional Red Head Coach

Coach Rapien, also known as Mama T,  has been coaching volleyball since 1987. She started her career in Aplington, IA. She was fortunate to be part of a successful high school program with 5 state appearances; a 2nd place finish in 2004 and State Champions in 2005. During her time at A-P, she also coached club teams in a variety of ages and helped run youth camps for A-P.  

 

Trish moved back home to Missouri in 2008, continuing her career as a nurse. She started coaching club teams again in 2009, but stepped away for a few years to watch her youngest daughter, Paige, play high school and collegiate volleyball. She jumped back into coaching as the Junior Varsity Coach at Cassville High School, coaching alongside her daughter Paige. 

 

A highlight of her career was coaching her daughter, Neisha, on the 2004 and 2005 State teams. She hopes to be able to do that alongside her daughter Paige someday as they build the program at Cassville.

 

Trish currently lives in Cassville, Missouri with her husband Brett. They own and operate The Barn at Bear Ridge, an event barn nestled in the Mark Twain forest. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially daughters Neisha and Paige, and grandsons Vinny, Gavin, Briggs, Jhent. She and Brett were blessed with their first granddaughter this year, Lorelai Rose.

 

Trish said “I love helping kids learn the game of volleyball and watching them develop their skills. But more importantly, it’s the life lessons we can teach them along the way. To be confident, strong ladies in life!! This is why I love coaching for Apex, their philosophy is kids first. I know they put in a lot of effort to find good coaches, running skills camps, and keeping the spirit of the game of volleyball alive!”

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Caira Dortch

14 National Navy Head Coach​​

Director of Player and Coach Development​

Recruiting Coordinator​

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Coach Dortch will begin her 5th year with Apex Volleyball Club as the Recruiting Coordinator and Director of Coach and Player Development.  In addition to these roles Coach Dortch also has coached various age divisions within the club.  This season she will be coaching our 14 National Navy team.

 

Coach Dortch also works with The Art of Coaching Volleyball, LLC. 

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Background:

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Caira recently spent 6 seasons (2014-2020) as the Head Coach at NCAA D-II, Southwest Baptist University. During her time at SBU, there were 9 All-MIAA recognition and 46 MIAA Academic Honor Roll recognition. She also guided the team to an AVCA team-academic award in 2017 and 2018.

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Previous to SBU, Dortch spent three seasons (2011-2014) as the assistant coach at Drury University. At Drury, Dortch primarily trained the Defense and Outside Hitters. She helped lead the volleyball team to their first ever GLVC conference tournament win in 2011. Dortch coached multiple All-Conference and Academic All-Conference players while at Drury.

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In 2009, Dortch was the Assistant Varsity/Head JV Coach at Evangel and helped lead the team to a 28-9 record and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.

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Dortch graduated in 2009 from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in French. She played volleyball for Arkansas Razorbacks from 2005, 2006, 2008 where she was a setter and defensive specialist.

 

In addition Caira went on to receive her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Evangel University in 2011.  She currently resides in Republic, Missouri with her husband Jarrod and two daughters, Addisyn and Evyn.

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Lindsey Massie

14 National Red Head Coach

Coach Massie (formerly Barton) begins her fourth official season coaching for Apex. She took a little time off while pursuing her doctorate. In addition to coaching various ages at Apex, she also has helped with our developmental clinics, positional clinics, private lessons and open gyms throughout the years at Apex. 

 

Background

Lindsey grew up in Festus, Missouri which is 30 minutes south of St. Louis. She started her college career as a defensive specialist/libero at Jefferson Community College.  She then had the opportunity to transfer to Southwest Baptist University to continue her volleyball career and finish up her undergraduate degree.  After earning her bachelors degree, she went on to school to get her doctorate of physical therapy and graduated in May of 2024. She has been practicing at CMH in Bolivar this past year. Lindsey has been married for the past year and a half and has a seven month old puppy named Millie! 

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Kye Browning

14 Regional Navy Head Coach

Coach Browning spent 8 years working in youth development programs across the country with the Boy Scouts of America and Nike US Sports Camps. In 2014, Kye founded the esports program at Utah Valley University, where he coached multiple teams to national tournament appearances across a variety of disciplines.

 

Background

Originally from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, Kye played 4 years of volleyball at Plainfield Central High School as a setter and opposite.  After moving to Branson in 2019, Kye looked to rekindle his love for volleyball. This is Kye's third season coaching at Apex. During the school year, Kye officiates volleyball for MSHSAA. When Kye is not coaching or officiating, he enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his wife, Kate, and two kids, Leo & Tilly.

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Carly Genzler

13 National Navy Head Coach

This is Coach Genzler's fifth year coaching at Apex.  The last three seasons she took her teams to GJNC competing in the USA division and American division.  In addition to coaching club, Carly coached at both the middle school and high school level and was the varsity assistant with Clever when the team went to the final four. 

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Background

Carly attended Clever High School and graduated in 2020.  In high school she played volleyball and ran track. She was on the varsity team all 4 years playing 6 rotations 3 of those 4 years. She earned several awards including, 4x academic all-state, 3x all-conference, 3x all-districts and all-state. Carly played volleyball for 10 years before deciding she wanted to showcase her passion for volleyball through coaching.

 

After high school, she continued her education at Missouri State University earning her bachelors in Entertainment Management and masters in Business Administration.  Carly is married to Taylor and they are expecting their first child in August. 

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Chelsea Abercrombie

13 National Red Head Coach

Coach Abercrombie is a graduate of Stockton High School, Chelsea earned All-Conference, All-District, and All-State honors during her high school volleyball career.

She continued her athletic journey at Southwest Baptist University, where she played as a setter and was named an MIAA All-Conference player for four consecutive years. During her time at SBU, Chelsea broke both the season and career assist records. She still holds the record for most assists in a single season and ranks in the top 10 all-time for assists, assists per set, digs, and aces.

Chelsea is entering her second season coaching with Apex and previously coached several seasons when the program was known as Club Bear. This year marks her first season as the head volleyball coach at Stockton High School, bringing her journey full circle.

Off the court, Chelsea is married to Josh and is a proud mom to three children—Henry, Melaney, and Jacob. She enjoys reading, spending time at the lake, and making memories with her family.

Chelsea is especially passionate about working with young and inexperienced players, helping them build confidence, develop their skills, and foster a lifelong love for the sport of volleyball.

Emma Kirklin

13 Regional Navy Head Coach

Coach Emma graduated from Bolivar High School, where she played volleyball and competed in club volleyball for 11 years with various teams. She is entering her third year of coaching at Apex.  

Background:
Emma graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, and is also certified as Special  Education Teacher.

Currently she works as special education teacher and has a wonderful fiancé named Tanner. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, spending time with family, and being outdoors.  She is  passionate about helping young athletes grow both on and off the court.

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Mariah Aldridge

13 Regional Red Head Coach

Mariah played two years of volleyball at Cottey College after playing volleyball since she was in the sixth grade.  This is Mariah's second year coaching with Apex and enjoys working with the younger age groups to help develop their love for the game and improve their skills. 

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Abbie Lane

12 National Navy Head Coach​

Coach Lane is entering her sixth year of coaching at Apex.  Coach Lane and her teams earned a bid to Girls Junior National Championships for 4 straight years while coaching at Apex. Prior to coaching at Apex, Abbie was the head coach at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City for 6 years.  While in KC, she also coached for the MAVS organization for many years and one season led her 12-1's team to a GJNC second place finish!!   

 

Background:

After graduating from St Mary's High School, Abbie went on to play volleyball at the University of Kansas for four years.  She primarily was an outside hitter as well as a defensive specialist for the Jayhawks.  After graduating with a degree in Sports and Fitness Management, she married her husband Ryan and eventually moved to Springfield with her three children.  Abbie brings years of experience on the court, as both a player and a coach.

 

 In addition to being a mom and volleyball coach, Abbie is a Certified Youth Exercise Specialist and NASM Certified Personal Trainer.  

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Malorie Ablan

12 National Red Head Coach

Bio coming soon

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Lilly Cunningham

12 Regional Navy Head Coach

Bio Coming soon

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Allison Davis

11 National Navy Head Coach​

Coach Davis is going into her 15th year as a varsity volleyball coach.  She is beginning her 7th year as the varsity coach at Republic High School and also is a high school physical education teacher there.  She started her high school coaching experience in Pierce City, Missouri, where she led teams to two state quarterfinal appearances and was named Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2013 for the Spring River Valley Conference. Next she moved over to Parkview High School where over the course of five years, she managed to improve an 0-27-1 record her first year to bring the Vikings to 20 wins by her fifth year there. She also coached middle school volleyball at Pershing Middle School and Jarrett Middle School.  In addition to her coaching experience at the middle school and high school level, Coach Davis started the Republic youth volleyball program (non-for-profit organization) that focuses on  skill development for grades K-5th grade. 

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Background

Allison graduated high school from Southern Cal High School in Lake City, Iowa. She played all 4 years of high school as a setter. After high school Allison attended Evangel University where she graduated with a degree in physical education. Allison has been married to her husband, Beau, for 19 years and has two children, Hart (7th grade) and Harper (5th grade). In her spare time she loves the outdoors, gardening, spending time at her kid's sporting activities and staying active.

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Savanna May

11 Regional Navy Head Coach

Bio coming soon

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Haley Smith

11 Regional Red Head Coach

Coach Smith will enter her second year coaching for Apex this year. In addition to coaching club last year she also coached for Republic Middle School as the 7th grade B team coach. Both the A and B team went undefeated for the season! Republic 7th grade also won the middle school COC tournament! 

Background

Haley graduated from Rolla High School in 2024. She earned numerous honors in high school including the following: 1st team academic all-conference in 2020 and 2021, honorable mention academic all-conference in 2022, 2nd team all-district in 2021 and 2022, and 2nd team all-conference in 2022. Haley is currently attending OTC and plans to transfer to MSU to pursue a degree in early childhood education so that she can be a kindergarten teacher.  In her spare time she enjoys reading, spending time with her family and friends, going on cruises and being with her dog, Oreo!

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Emerson Grossman

10 Regional Navy Head Coach

Bio Coming soon

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