Ready to break through
HVA eager to take on district challenge
With teams such as Bearden, Farragut and West in the same district, HVA has not cracked the region tournament since 2022.
The Lady Hawks will be looking to change that this year, as they return plenty of experience from a team that went 13-5-2 with a district semifinal loss to Bearden in 2025.
“I think we’re really excited this year,” assistant coach Mandy Marshall said. “We’re returning quite a few starting varsity players, and we’ve got four freshmen on varsity that can make a huge impact.
“Obviously the goal is making it out of our district. We play in the toughest district, I think, and none of these girls have experienced that. So that’s our first goal, to get over that hump.”
The starting lineup will feaure mostly new faces, as HVA lost only three starters to graduation last year.
Leading an eight-person senior class will be Anna Ogle and Marely Ortega.
Ogle, an East Tennessee State commit, will resume her role as a standout center back, having notched All-District and All-Region honors last year after an All-State campaign as a sophomore.
Ortega will be continuing her career at Pellissippi State Community College, but first, she will be starting for HVA at center midfielder after an All-District and All-Region season last year.
Marley Pitstick, another senior, will be returning at outside back after suffering an ACL tear early last season.
“She’s someone we lost last year to an ACL injury early-on, and she’s our starting outside back,” Marshall said. “So that was a huge loss for us last year. We’ve had one scrimmage so far, and she picked up right where she left off. Playing even better than she did last year, and she’s a three-year starter. She and Anna anchor our defense, so we’re leaning on that experience.”
The Lady Hawks also will lean on juniors such as Reagan Wilson, who will be a three-year starter.
“This year, we’re playing around with moving her into a holding defensive mid, but she has done well with both of those,” Marshall said.
She offered similar sentiments on fellow junior Ellie Phillips, who returns at center midfielder.
“We are really excited about her,” Marshall said. “She has made tremendous jumps in her game. She’s really grown in her vision and movement and was a leader in assists last season.”
Makayla Hammond will lead the sophomore class, having been named Rookie of the Year for the district as a freshman.
“She had eight goals and four assists last season, coming in second behind Morgan Holloway, who was a senior, so we see her taking on that lead role as a goal-scorer,” Marshall said.
Avery Votaw will make an early impact as a freshman, bringing a “vision and awareness” that are beyond her years, per Marshall.
Lydia Ogle will look to make a similar impact on defense, where she will start alongside her older sister, Anna.
“She is a very smart player, very calm on the ball,” Marshall said. “The chemistry between those two, they balance each other really well in the back. It’s opened our ability to move Reagan to center mid.”
Overall, the HVA assistant reinforced the team’s motivation coming into this year — and that the Lady Hawks indeed are ready to move past their district-wide obstacle. They will look to begin that challenge next Tuesday, Aug. 18, in their season opener at home against Webb. First touch is slated for 7 p.m.
“The first year I was here, we didn’t win many games, and each year has gotten better,” she said. “So we hope this year is the one to get over that hump.”
