Robicheaux, Bulldogs set lofty goals in soccer this season

STARKVILLE — Courtney Robicheaux admits she was pretty shocked.

Mason lends experience to Noxubee County football team

MACON — This is Kymbotric Mason’s season to shine.

Prep Player of Week: Adair starts strong for Heritage Academy

It’s difficult to stop anybody when they’re rolling.

Robinson ready to play bigger role for Noxubee County

MACON — It’s easy to get overshadowed when you’re a member of the Noxubee County High School defense.

Over the years, the Tigers have developed a reputation for having an attacking defense that sends multiple players to the football to make plays.

Crawford looks forward to challenge of leading Noxubee County boys’ basketball

Danny Crawford was familiar with Noxubee County High School’s athletic success from his time working in Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties.

MUW begins national searching for coaching candidates in four sports

Jason Trufant is going to have to talk to someone in information technology at Mississippi University for Women very soon.

Caledonia’s Unruh looking to have solid senior season

CALEDONIA — Spencer Unruh’s plan for the summer was to stay busy.

While others might have kicked back and relaxed, the Caledonia High School standout wanted to use his “vacation” to put himself in front of as many college coaches as he could to raise his recruiting profile.

Attending a Manning Camp in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and camps at Louisiana Tech, Samford, Alabama-Birmingham, Pearl High (Jim Harbaugh), East Mississippi Community College, Itawamba C.C., and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. helped Unruh accomplish his goal.

MSU’s Mauldin wants to build on impact season

STARKVILLE — Carly Mauldin tried to prepare herself.

There are plenty of pitfalls to encounter when you’re jumping from high school to Division I, so Mauldin wanted to be ready in case she didn’t see a lot of playing time.

Coming from West Jones High in Laurel, Mauldin hoped to get a jump-start on her career at Mississippi State by enrolling in school in January 2016. The move enabled her to get an early start on her studies and gave her the opportunity to work out with the women’s soccer team in the spring.

Harris is MSU volleyball team’s defensive ace

STARKVILLE — Numbers don’t mean a lot to Payton Harris.

After all, it’s not like she has time to stand straight up and keep tabs on her defensive success. If Harris did, she likely would get caught out of position, or, more embarrassingly, get six-packed, a volleyball term that refers to someone getting plunked in the head with a kill.

New Hope looks to use youth as advantage on volleyball court

Allison Woolbright isn’t going to allow youth to be an impediment for the New Hope High School volleyball team.

Eubanks ready to shine for MSU

STARKVILLE — Mallory Eubanks is ready to shine.

Following an offseason in which she immersed herself in soccer and was called up to be a member of the United States’ Under-19 Women’s National Team, Eubanks wants to give back some of what she learned to her Mississippi State women’s soccer teammates to help the Bulldogs kick the season off in style.

Columbus Christian’s Webber, Misiak will go to Junior Olympics

STEENS — Chris Webber and Glenn Misiak are excited to see how they stack up against some of the nation’s top runner.

The opportunity to miss the first day of school at Columbus Christian Academy is just one of the perks they will enjoy when they travel to Texas to compete in the 50th anniversary of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games.

Fields continues to build Heritage Academy volleyball

Building processes are nothing new to Liz Fields.

After all, Fields and Liz Byrne led the initial construction efforts that helped Heritage Academy create a volleyball program in 2011. Their hard work paid off early in the initial season with a 3-1 victory against Columbus High that gave the program its first brick in the foundation.

New Hope’s Reed plans to make decision soon

Don’t let the clothing Tae-kion Reed wears cloud your judgment.

It doesn’t matter if the New Hope High School football standout wears an Ole Miss shirt, like he did Monday prior to getting his team picture taken, or if he decides to show off a Mississippi State shirt today or an Alabama shirt on Wednesday for the first day of school because he plans to keep people guessing about which school he will commit to.

MSU’s Johnson focused on one word

STARKVILLE — “Tournament.”

The word occupies Jazmyne Johnson’s thoughts every day. That shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who knows the history of the Mississippi State volleyball. Started in 1975, the program recorded only eight winning seasons up until the 2015 season, when new head coach David McFatrich came over from Central Arkansas with the goal to reverse the Bulldogs’ fortunes.

Caledonia High’s Cross, Brown win awards after attending AAU event

CALEDONIA — Imagine stepping out of your comfort zone and into a current of volleyball players more than 2,300 teams strong.

Bailie Cross and Ansley Brown had a chance to do that last month as part of the Level Elite Sports 18s and 14s travel teams that competed at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Volleyball Championship on June 19-22 in Orlando, Florida.

Johnson finding voice, working into shape

STARKVILLE — The options on both ends of the court make Vic Schaefer smile.

A year ago, Schaefer had plenty of reasons to smiles as the Mississippi State women’s basketball team won a program-record 28 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the second time. The Bulldogs reached those marks with a point guard — Morgan William — who often was at less than 100 percent due to a leg injury — and a freshman — Jazzmun Holmes — as the backup point guard.

Oak Hill Academy, Hebron Christian place seven on All-MAIS baseball teams

WEST POINT — The Oak Hill Academy and Hebron Christian baseball teams combined to put seven players on the All-Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) teams, which were released earlier this month.

Confidence helps Sessom’s game reach new heights

OXFORD — Matt Insell can’t believe the transformation Shandricka Sessom has made.

In just two years, Sessom has gone from a player who was reluctant to

take her shot and to assert her will on games to being one of the go-to players on the Ole Miss women’s basketball team.

Now, Sessom is ready to add a running mate who can match her shot for shot.

Heritage Academy set to put lessons learned to use

Gracie Plant, Kat Sykes, and Haley Marie Fisackerly can’t help but smile when asked about the changes Tom Velek has brought to the Heritage Academy girls soccer program.

Whether it’s the amount of running, the skill work, or the changing practice plans, there have been plenty of adjustments the players have had to make for their new coach.