From football national championships to women’s basketball regional titles, the Bobcats have done just about everything in athletics. This season, Jones experienced something new: a regional title for its inaugural volleyball team.
Jones got the ball rolling in March 2023 by hiring head coach John Dussouy. Even though Dussoy was the Bobcats’ first coach, and it would be the team’s first season, he still had high expectations coming into the fall of 2024.
“My expectations were to win the conference,” Coach Dussouy said. “Win the conference and win the Region and compete to go to the national tournament. In the end, my goal was for this team to compete.”
Straight out of the gate, the Bobcats showed that they could live up to their coach’s standard by going 6-0 to start the season. After Jones had completed their first ten matches, the Bobcats held an impressive 9-1 record.
As the Bobcats played, they only got better. By the end of the regular season, Jones had secured a 25-7 overall record and a No. 3 spot in the Region 23 tournament. The regional title, however, was not going to be an easy task to achieve.
Because the Northwest Rangers had won the MACCC title, they would be the host team of the tournament. Throughout the regular season, the Bobcats had gone 1-1 against the Rangers, but Northwest had not lost at home all season long. While Northwest was going to be a tough match, the Bobcats would have to beat the Itawamba Indians to even play the Rangers.
The Indians were Jones’ Achilles’ heel. Seeded at No. 2 in the tournament, the Indians were a perfect 2-0 against the Bobcats in the regular season. Jones, however, flipped the script in the playoffs, beating ICC 3-1 to advance to the regional title match.
On paper, the championship match was supposed to be a competitive, hard-fought game with several emotional twists and turns. That is not at all what happened. There was something special about the Bobcat volleyball team that weekend. It was like nothing was going to stop them from achieving their coach’s one-and-a-half-year goal. By the time the last point had been won, the Bobcats had defeated the Rangers 3-1 to capture their first ever regional championship.
Jones played against Enterprise State for the privilege of battling in the National Tournament. Unfortunately, the Bobcats fell in the fifth set to Enterprise State. Despite the loss, the feeling in Ellisville is that the Bobcats had a successful season.
Winning 28 matches and competing for a spot in the National Tournament is all one could ask for in a college athletic program, let alone a first-year program. To make the season even more impressive, the Bobcats’ roster consisted of only one sophomore, Emily Boudreaux. Even with that fact in mind, Coach Dussouy is not surprised by what his team accomplished.
“Every player came from a school where they competed for a state title,” said Coach Dussouy. “They had the experience.”
The Bobcat players understood the mission from the start but also enjoyed the moment and understood the magnitude of being on an inaugural team.
“It was really cool for everybody,” said freshman setter Mamie Fromdahl. “You get to set all the records for everybody.”
The excitement for the Bobcat Volleyball team did not stop at season end. Four players from Jones were named to the all-MACCC team: Emily Boudreaux, Harmony Jackson, Alanah Fitch and Mamie Fromdahl. Fromdahl was also named MACCC player of the year.
Winning a regional championship as a first-year team makes a season worth remembering. For Coach Dussouy though, the Jones 2024 season was an especially memorable one.
“It will be forever one of my favorite teams,” said Coach Dussouy.
by Ollie Hammonds
