When Kennedy Phelan and the Fayetteville volleyball team walked into Bank Ozk Arena in Hot Springs, Ark., they felt at home. The stage for the Class 6A state championship was just how they left it.

On Saturday, the two-time defending state champions set out to defend their title, and with Phelan at the helm, the Bulldogs won 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-18) against Southside for their third title in a row. Phelan was once again named state tournament MVP after registering 37 assists, 18 digs and seven kills.

“The last two years, it was kind of a dog fight. We didn’t know who was going to win,” said the senior setter, who was also named JWS Player of the Week in the aftermath of the state title. “This year, we’ve kind of had a target on your back. It was a different kind of pressure when you’re the seniors, you’re undefeated, you’re supposed to win this game. There were a little bit of nerves.”

The Bulldogs have quite the impressive resume, crossing off every goal they set at the start of the season. The team was consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally, most recently landing at No. 7 in the JWS volleyball team rankings.

Fayetteville was undefeated against Arkansas teams, taking home the third-place trophy in the Durango Fall Classic, one of the nation’s premier volleyball tournaments. And on Saturday, they capped it off with another state title.

DOGS WIN!!!! STATE CHAMPS! 3-0! @FHSVolleydogs pic.twitter.com/sY5BPoR2bU

— FHS Bulldogs (@FayBulldogs) October 30, 2022

As the team succeeded, so did Phelan. She led the team with 977 assists and 80 aces while finishing third in digs (277) and hitting percentage (.334), recording 217 kills. With 3,972 career assists, she walks away as the Bulldogs’ all-time assists leader.

Phelan has been a Bulldog all her life. Her mom and head coach, Jessica Phelan, began coaching at Fayetteville while pregnant with Kennedy.

“I know for her, being a Bulldog and being a part of Fayetteville volleyball was important. Long before she put that jersey on, she was a part of the team,” Jessica said. “I think for her, it’s been a culmination of her childhood.”

Kennedy became accustomed to the mother-daughter, coach-player dynamic at a young age.

“In practice, she’s Coach. She’s Phelan. She’s not mom,” she said. “It’s been that way for a long time. That’s made it easy.”

Jessica is a volleyball legend in Arkansas — more specifically, a Southeastern Conference legend. She was a middle blocker at the University of Arkansas and the most decorated volleyball player in the program.

“I, unfortunately, didn’t inherit her height,” Kennedy said with a laugh. “She’s 6-foot-1. I’m 5-foot-7.”

Kennedy says it’s easy to be overlooked as an undersized player, but she’s used it to her advantage, focusing on what she could be in the absence of height.

“I was going to try to run my offense perfectly,” Kennedy said. “I was going to make it up in every other area.”

Now, with Kennedy’s storied high school career over, she turns her attention to the club season, which will prepare her to become a Florida State Seminole. She’ll play both indoor and beach volleyball for FSU.

I am sooo excited to announce that I have committed to play both indoor and beach volleyball at Florida State University!!! I’ve had endless support from my parents, family, teammates, Jenny, and many other coaches and friends. Go Noles!!! pic.twitter.com/TvzUv0UGxz

— Kenna Phelan (@PhelanKennedy) July 9, 2021

When she takes the court in Tallahassee, she’ll feel at home with head coach Chris Poole, the former volleyball coach at the University of Arkansas.

But for now, as the mother and daughter take time to bask in their third consecutive state title, it’s a bittersweet moment.

“It’s definitely something I’ve waited a long time for,” Kennedy said. “Not everyone gets to share the court with their best friends and their mom. I’m definitely going to miss it.”

“As a mom, I’m really proud of the career she’s had and the leader she is and the relationship she’s had with her teammates,” Jessica added. “Now I get to be her fan, so that’s fun, too.”

Nika Anschuetz is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @nlanschuetz.

The 2024 Solheim Cup tees off on Friday, with US golf stars looking to topple three-time defending champs Europe in the team tournament's 19th iteration.

Alternating between European and US host courses each edition, teams compete in three days of match play, collecting one point for every win and a half-point for every tie. The US needs a total of 14.5 points to take this year's Cup outright, while Europe needs just 14 to retain it. 

Team USA spans 12 of the sport's top-ranked and most decorated athletes, including Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin, Megan Khang, Ally Ewing, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang, and the soon-to-retire Lexi Thompson.

US golfers on a mission to reclaim Solheim Cup dominance

Team Europe​ has held the Cup since 2019, but the margins have been razor thin. The 2023 event actually ended in a 14-14 tie, but as reigning champions, Europe retained the title in what the team considers their eighth victory over the US.

While the US holds the advantage over Europe in overall Solheim Cup wins, they haven't raised the trophy in seven years. And unlike other competitions with continuously swelling prize purses, only international bragging rights are on the line here.

Neither team has ever won four consecutive titles, and the US will aim to keep Europe from claiming that historic victory on home soil in Gainesville, Virginia, this weekend.

Star US golfer Nelly Korda sees Solheim Cup as "unfinished business"

All eyes are now on Team USA's Korda, who's coming off a banner 2024 after winning six different LPGA Tour events, including her second major.

"Whenever you get to wear the red, white, and blue and stars and stripes, there's a different meaning to it," the world No. 1 golfer told the BBC earlier this week. "You're playing not just for yourself, but for your captains, for your teammates, and your country, and there's just nothing like it. We have got some unfinished business."

How to watch the 2024 Solheim Cup women's golf tournament

The Solheim Cup starts Friday, September 13th, at 7:05 AM, with live coverage across NBC, the Golf Channel, and Peacock.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a moment to talk about the final few days of Alex Morgan’s professional career, how the soccer world has changed since Morgan’s debut, and how the star herself spoke about what’s next.

Then, she discusses what Angel Reese’s season-ending injury means for the WNBA playoff race, salutes the US Open, reflects on the 2024 Paralympic Games, and more.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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The USYNT cruised to the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup knockout round in historic fashion on Saturday, routing Paraguay 7-0 in Bogotá, Colombia, thanks to stellar showings from young NCAA and NWSL standouts.

Armed with the most pros to ever feature on a US U-20 World Cup roster with eight NWSL rookies, the USYNT pulled off the largest U-20 WWC win in team history.

The US hasn't won a U-20 WWC in 12 years​, with 2024 marking the first time they've made it out of the tournament's group stage since 2016.

Young NWSL and NCAA players level up the U-20 game

Though long viewed as inferior to Europe and its club-based academy system, US players opting to turn pro at younger ages are making the USYNT increasingly competitive — a trend that's also pushing college programs to new heights.

In Saturday's win, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson​ and Utah Royals rookie Ally Sentnor both found the back of the net, while the youngest goal-scorer in Seattle Reign history, winger Emeri Adames, tied Heather O'Reilly's 2002 national record for most assists in a single U-20 World Cup game with three in the first half. 

Representing the NCAA, Princeton junior Pietra Tordin made her U-20 World Cup scoring debut count with a hat trick — the first US player to do so since Savannah DeMelo in 2018.

USYNT to face Mexico in U-20 knockout clash

Unlike previous editions, this year's expanded U-20 World Cup​ includes a Round of 16 for the first time. 

The USYNT will face regional rival Mexico tomorrow, a team they lost to in the 2023 Concacaf Championship​ final before settling two July friendlies with a draw and a win.

How to watch the US vs. Mexico at the U-20 World Cup

Catch the US women's youth national team take on Mexico in U-20 World Cup action at 9 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage on FS2.

Already one of the most popular women’s spectator sports in the US, the 2024 NCAA volleyball season is off to the races this month as the shifting lines of modern college sports plays out in real time​.

Thanks to major conference realignments, regional rivalries turned national storylines will drive the narrative all the way to December's NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten's big changes

At the forefront of these shifts is longtime volleyball powerhouse the Big Ten, which welcomed USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12 this summer to bring the conference total to 18 teams​.

Added travel, raucous home crowds, and even fiercer competition will play into the conference's season storyline as Midwest heavyweights Wisconsin and Nebraska meet West Coast specialists in a quest to bring the Big Ten its first NCAA title since 2021.

"We knew the venues, everything was comfortable," Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer, speaking with JWS at last month's Big Ten Media Day​ in Chicago, said of his team’s former Pac-12 home. "I think we're going to [see] a lot of uncomfortableness this year, just with new change."

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Surprises and upsets already define the 2024 season

Mirroring that uncertainty, several 2023 heavy-hitters​ have already produced surprising results this season. Two-time defending champion Texas fell to Minnesota in early non-conference play and again to unranked Miami last weekend, while Wisconsin went 0-3 before picking up a pair of weekend wins.

Then last week, 2023 runners-up Nebraska suffered a historic upset loss to unranked SMU, though they also bounced back with weekend victories.

With Power 10 rankings already a rollercoaster, expect even more impressive performances, greater parity, and larger crowds as college volleyball rides its meteoric rise through 2024.