Alabama volleyball’s rebuild will continue in 2024 after a 2023 campaign that included a tough 11-18 overall record and an even tougher 1-17 record in the SEC. Exciting new players and coaches will join a talent-packed schedule.
New players
Ten new players will join the Crimson Tide this season: six freshmen and four transfers.
Of the four transfers, one familiar face will join the team in the form of previous Mississippi State outside hitter Sophie Agee. She played a major role in the Bulldogs’ two wins over the Crimson Tide in 2023, leading the team with 10 kills and 12 digs during the Sept. 24 matchup and 16 kills during the Oct. 27 game.
“Sophie is a powerhouse on and off the court,” head coach Rashinda Reed said. “She embodies the relentless spirit of a competitive athlete. With unwavering drive and desire, she is excited about the journey to build Alabama volleyball and leaving her mark of excellence during her time at The Capstone.”
Alabama also inked Kayla Keshock, a setter from Samford who led her team in assists in 2021 (988) and 2022 (961) and aces in her junior season with 53; Natalie Repetti, a libero from UC San Diego who led UCSD with 401 digs last season; and Paris Thompson, an outside hitter from Notre Dame who in 2022 had a career-high 20 kills in a win over Syracuse and 148 kills with an average of 2.35 kills per set.
The transfer students are not the only power the team is bringing in 2024.
Of the Crimson Tide’s six freshman commits, one stands out. Hannah Parant, a 6-foot-2 setter from Mountain Brook High School, will join the Crimson Tide after being named Alabama’s 2023-24 Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.
Parant led her team to a 46-5 record and a 6A state championship during her senior year, during which she also picked up 1,170 assists, a program-high 91 aces, and 311 digs. She finished her time at Mountain Brook as the record holder for the most aces (315) and assists (4,408) in team history.
New coach
Will Boyd, who previously worked as an offensive coordinator and setting coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will join Reed and her coaching staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to work at the University of Alabama,” Boyd said. “Rashinda Reed, Matt Scott, Chelsi Carter and the team are establishing something special and I’m excited to be joining. As an Alabama native, it has been a goal of mine to come back home. To be starting this next chapter of my coaching career in Tuscaloosa is very exciting.”
With Boyd as the offensive coordinator, the team ended its 2023 season ranked second in the Sun Belt in assists with 1,481, while one setter, Siena DeCambra, finished third individually with 1,165.
Boyd’s other coaching stints include where he first met Reed: the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was an assistant coach. He then moved to Samford in 2016, where he helped the Bulldogs to a Southern Conference title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Games to see
The Crimson Tide is set to face off against seven Top 25 teams, including the defending national champions, the Texas Longhorns. They will play in four games televised on the SEC Network: Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia and Texas.
- No. 20 Florida State — Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. CT
- At No. 15 Tennessee — Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. CT
- At Auburn — Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. CT
- No. 25 Georgia — Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. CT
- At No. 19 Arkansas — Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. CT
- No. 9 Kentucky — Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. CT
- At No. 11 Florida — Nov. 10 at noon CT
- No. 1 Texas — Nov. 17 at noon CT
