The Liberty Bell High School volleyball team’s senior class, from left: Kara McMillan, Ava Schade, Neve Kelly, Wynter Woras and Mira Hirsch.
There’s excitement inside the Lions’ Den this autumn that has been building for years. The 2026 Liberty Bell High School volleyball team, featuring returning players Kara McMillan, Ava Schade, Neve Kelly, Wynter Woras and Mira Hirsch, is ready after a disappointing end to 2025 and an off-season of full-on club-style volleyball.
The senior class has played together since the top of their heads barely were level with the bottom of the net. To really get an idea of the culture and history of this year’s senior class, we sat with local volleyball guru and one time Liberty Bell head coach Greg Knott to get his take on both the Mountain Lion senior girls and underclass, but also to get a quick look into the Central Washington 2B League.
Knott is a mentor and summertime coach for a number of Liberty Bell players current and past, and is also the Woras sisters’ grandfather. That doesn’t affect his perspective, though, as he considers many of the girls through his program as “my or our kids.”
The first question for the fan, former coach, mentor and grand-dad was: Are you excited for this year?
“Oh my goodness, yes,” said Knott. “This should be fun to watch. One of the really standout things about this group is their athleticism. Their ability to get to balls, set, kill and block. They are all good athletes that know the game of volleyball.”
Wynter Woras’ ability to leap and kill, as well as throw up a block, is evidenced in her first three years. She’s been working on a skill Knott called “smart swings” — a measure of whether a player is scoring more points for their team or the opponent.
It’s also referred to as positive player efficacy. On a trip to Tonasket this summer for a weekend tournament the Mountain Lions won, no player had a negative rating in that category, a pleasing statistic for both Knott, the mentor, and head coach Beth Blank.
“Kara McMillan is a versatile a player as we have,” said Knott. She has the ability to serve but her forte is on the front line where she has shown impressive skill in setting from the side and center. She will be used primarily as a middle blocker.
Mira Hirsch spent some time since last season playing a little above her age level on an 18U club. Knott said she has evolved into a more mature player.
“She’s at a completely different level now than she was last season,” Knott said. Hirsch is expected to provide a double wall with McMillan on the block.
The back row defense is anchored by Neve Kelly, the sparky libero. She’s grown into the role of the back row floor director and is good at anticipating where the ball is headed from the opposite side.
“She’s really stepped into and accepted her important role as the leader of the backcourt line,” said Knott. “People don’t necessarily understand how important that is, and she’s really good at it.”
Ava Schade will also play a key role in that backcourt set, but it’s her consistency from the service line that proved reliable and steady last year. Knott called her the firefighter on the team. Her calming nature would often settle things down when a situation was getting out of hand and would reset with her steady serving.
There is more to the Mountain Lions this year than just those five seniors. Sophomore hitter Avery Vracin is the near future of the program and showed more than just glimpses last year of her athleticism and enthusiasm for the game.
“We knew Avery was going to be very good at this game when she was a youngster,” said Knott. “She’s going to be a force this year and for the next two years after that.”
Another consequential underclass player is sophomore Zephyr Woras. The younger of the Woras sisters, Zephyr was solid last year from the service line and back row defender. She has grown to nearly level with sister Wynter in height and has also developed into a skilled outside hitter with good springs and a good sense of anticipation.
Junior Mylie Erks is another frontline player to keep an eye on. Last year, with graduated senior Layla Mortland, Erks was part of a formidable front line defense that was constantly interrupting opposing kill attempts with deflections and outright block-kill combinations.
Knott is also high on the younger set of players coming up. “Years ago I was sitting with the athletic director, Chase Rost, watching our girls get beat 25-2 in one set. The whole match was like that. I told him that we can’t let this happen, and that was the start of the Confluence program. This year’s seniors are pretty much our first group of players.”
Knott, who is still deeply involved with the Confluence Volleyball program, sees it as a model for the long-term success at both Pateros and Liberty Bell high schools. “We meet twice a week, once at Pateros and once at Liberty Bell,” he said. Many of the players make both practices. “Our hope is for it to continue into the future teaching kids the game, skills and passion for the sport.”
CWB outlook
While last year’s disappointing loss to Cle Elum-Roslyn at the District 5 tournament is still on the mind of head coach Beth Blank, but she is ready to put it behind her and start anew.
“The speed of the offense and the mental aspect is my focus this year,” said Blank.
This year will offer a glimpse into how that will all play out. Pateros is one of the favorites in the Central Washington 1B, having qualified for state last year, and the Mountain Lions, along with Tonasket and Brewster, should compete for the league title and earn their first trip to state since 2010.
Upheaval in Manson is a headline on this season. After earning state 2B championships in 2023 and 2024, and then a third-place last season, the entire Trojan coaching staff, including head coach Hayli Thompson, reportedly has stepped away. They still have some good athletes remaining, and with their recent history of success, don’t rule Manson out.
Okanogan is still rebuilding from senior graduations a couple of years ago, but could surprise. The rest of the league is still lagging the top four or five programs.
Home dates to circle on your calendar include Tuesday, Sept. 23 (Manson), and Thursday, Oct. 15 (Brewster). The only regular season scheduled match with Tonasket is on the road on Thursday, Oct. 8. Weekday matches start at 5 p.m. for JV and 6:30 p.m. for varsity. Saturday single matches typically start at 11 a.m. for JV and 12:30 p.m. for varsity.
More scheduling information is available on the athletics page at www.methow.org.
