Danielle Ennis knows what Richmond Hill volleyball lost.
Ten seniors. A ton of experience. A 40-3 season. And a group that helped the Wildcats win their fourth straight region championship.
That's a lot to replace.
But spend a little time talking with Ennis about her 2026 team, and one word she isn't quite ready to use is rebuilding.
“I think they all want the opportunity to prove themselves,” Ennis said. “As much as we hate using the word rebuilding this year, because these girls are all extremely talented, it's not so much rebuilding. I think it's getting the team chemistry down.”
And figuring out where all the pieces fit.
That might be the biggest difference between the Wildcats who finished 40-3 last fall and the group preparing to take the court this season.
Last year's Richmond Hill team knew exactly who it was.
This one is still finding out.
A tough act to follow
The numbers from 2025 tell part of the story.
Richmond Hill finished 40-3 and went 10-0 in region play. The Wildcats' senior class included some of their biggest statistical contributors, including Talia Johnson with 357 kills, Lily Ritzema with 266 kills, Bryanna Da Silva with 566 assists and Kylee Gilbert with 358 digs.
But Ennis remembers something beyond the numbers.
She remembers how that team handled change.
Coach Kaitlin Fulton stepped away after having a baby but remained with the program as an assistant. Ennis eventually took over a team dealing with plenty of uncertainty.
Instead of letting it derail their season, the Wildcats kept winning.
“Them working through their adversity,” Ennis said when asked what made her proudest. “With the coaching changes that happened early on and having to walk into that with all of the change and the unknown, I think all of us just came together and said, ‘It doesn't matter what hand we've been dealt. We're going to make the best of it and make this the best season yet.’
“And we did.”
That senior class is gone now.
The standard they helped establish isn't.
It's their turn now
Richmond Hill returns five players from last year's roster — seniors Alexa Anderson, Kailah King, Gabby Mondesir and Sydney Carmichael, along with junior Raeden Sander.
Richmond Hill seniors Sydney Carmichael (5), Kailah King (3) and Gabby Mondesir (4) hold senior captain Alexa Anderson (1) during the Wildcats’ preseason photo shoot. The four seniors are part of a Richmond Hill team looking to continue the program’s championship tradition in 2026. (Photo by ProShot Media)
Anderson and Sander have been named captains.
Anderson was one of Richmond Hill's most productive returning attackers last season, finishing with 130 kills and 211 digs. King recorded 127 kills and led the Wildcats with 56 total blocks.
Richmond Hill senior Alexa Anderson is one of the Wildcats’ two captains for the 2026 season. Anderson is one of five returning players from last season’s 40-3 team. (Photo by ProShot Media)
But their importance this season isn't going to be measured only by a stat sheet.
“They are such strong leaders,” Ennis said. “The girls really respect them and listen to them. They're very knowledgeable about the game and the strategy of the game.”
Richmond Hill junior Raeden Sander joins senior Alexa Anderson as a team captain for the 2026 season. Coach Danielle Ennis expects Sander to play outside hitter for the Wildcats. (Photo by ProShot Media)
Ennis compared having Anderson and Sander on the court to having a couple more coaches — but without trying to be coaches.
They lead by example.
They encourage teammates. They keep the energy up. And when practice starts to drag, they're willing to push everyone back in the right direction.
And don't expect Ennis to lock either player into just one job.
Sander is expected to play outside. Anderson will see time outside and could also be used at libero.
That leads to something Ennis kept coming back to throughout the conversation.
Versatility.
“This team is versatile,” she said. “These girls can play multiple positions. I have many girls that could play three spots.”
Some new names to remember
One of the fun parts about preseason is finding the player nobody is talking about yet.
Ennis already has a couple.
Start with sophomore middle Kherrington Babb.
Babb was brought up to varsity because Ennis wanted a third middle available. It didn't take long for that plan to change.
“She has surpassed my expectations already, and we haven't even seen her play,” Ennis said. “To the point where I don't know that I can put her on the bench as a backup.”
Babb's emergence could allow Ennis to move another middle to the right side.
Richmond Hill senior Gabby Mondesir returns for a Wildcats team that will feature a much different lineup after graduating 10 seniors from last season. (Photo by ProShot Media)
Then there's junior setter Daisy Willis.
Willis spent two seasons setting for Richmond Hill's JV team. The interesting part is that she didn't arrive in the program as a setter.
Ennis saw something.
Willis went to work.
“When she came to me freshman year, she was not a setter,” Ennis said. “I told her that's what she needed to be. She went out and worked hard at it, and she's doing fantastic.”
Freshman Lily West gives the Wildcats another option at setter and has impressed Ennis with her athleticism and speed. Ennis said Richmond Hill could potentially use a 6-2 offense with Willis and West.
And there's Brielle Allred, another player whose versatility could give opponents problems.
Allred has played middle, but Ennis is considering using her on the right side.
“She can hit the ball and put it away,” Ennis said.
That's why Ennis believes this year's team may have something last year's 40-win team didn't have quite as much of.
More options.
“I feel like now we have more weapons, which is crazy to think about because we were so talented last season,” Ennis said.
She also believes Richmond Hill could be an even better blocking team.
That's saying something considering the Wildcats recorded 115 total blocks last season.
They're going to find out early.
There won't be much time for Richmond Hill to ease into the season.
The Wildcats open Aug. 11 at Savannah Country Day and have early matches scheduled against Calvary Day, St. Vincent's, The Habersham School and May River before getting into the heart of their region schedule.
Ennis likes it that way.
She wants to find out how this team reacts when things aren't easy.
Last year's Wildcats didn't have to play many deciding sets. This year's group may not have that luxury.
“I think these girls need to have that little bit of competition to see how much they're going to fight,” Ennis said. “How far are they going to dig? What are they going to do to make sure they get to that level?”
And if Richmond Hill takes some early losses?
Ennis can live with that if the Wildcats learn from them.
“If we fall short here at the beginning, it'll be a lot for us to learn about our program, about our roles and how we can combat that come region play,” she said.
Because eventually region play arrives.
And that's where the standard gets pretty simple around Richmond Hill.
Four straight isn't enough.
Richmond Hill senior Kailah King is one of five returning players for the Wildcats, who enter the 2026 season seeking their fifth consecutive region championship. (Photo by ProShot Media)
The Wildcats have won four consecutive region championships.
Ennis isn't running away from that history.
Neither is this team.
She wants her players to understand what the teams before them accomplished while also realizing this is now their opportunity.
“This is their turn to make their legacy,” Ennis said. “But the standard for Richmond Hill High School volleyball is still at the top. And we're going to continue that standard.”
So, yes.
The fifth straight region championship is absolutely a goal.
“That is not off the table,” Ennis said.
In fact, after watching this team throughout the summer and during full practices, Ennis' confidence has grown.
“I don't see why we couldn't win it,” she said. “I don't know everything that the other teams have in our region, but I don't see that we couldn't win it.”
There's talent.
There's versatility.
There's a winning tradition.
And while this team doesn't have the varsity experience of the one before it, these players aren't exactly learning how to win. Ennis said many of them lost only two games on JV last season, and the previous JV group lost just once.
“These girls have won,” Ennis said. “They know how to win.”
Now comes the next part.
Doing it under the varsity lights.
Richmond Hill senior Sydney Carmichael is one of four seniors returning for the Wildcats this season. Coach Danielle Ennis said Carmichael's versatility gives Richmond Hill another option at outside hitter. (Photo by ProShot Media)
Ennis believes the biggest opponent might not be standing on the other side of the net.
It might be themselves.
“We have the talent. The talent's there,” she said. “It's just the execution. And I think that's going to come with confidence.”
Ten seniors walked out the door after 40 wins and another region championship.
Nobody is pretending that won't matter.
But Richmond Hill volleyball isn't interested in spending 2026 talking about who isn't there anymore.
It's time to find out who's next.
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2026 RICHMOND HILL VOLLEYBALL
Head coach: Danielle Ennis
2025 record: 40-3 (10-0 region)
2025 finish: GHSA Class 6A state quarterfinals
Returning players: Seniors - Alexa Anderson, Kailah King, Gabby Mondesir, Sydney Carmichael, and junior Raeden Sander
Captains: Alexa Anderson, Raeden Sander
First match: Aug. 11 at Savannah Country Day
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2026 Richmond Hill Volleyball Roster
Brielle Allred
Alexa Anderson
Kherrington Babb
Emily Brookshire
Sydney Carmichael
Siana Colson
Addyson Hankinson
Makayla Jimenez
Kailah King
Gabby Mondesir
Madi Rush
Raeden Sander
Lily West
Daisy Willis
Coaching Staff
Danielle Ennis — Head coach
Kaitlin Fulton — Assistant coach
Jennifer Cribbs — Assistant coach
Chandelle Pehle — Assistant coach
Larry West — Assistant coach
Patrick Means — Statistician
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2026 Richmond Hill Volleyball Schedule
| Aug. 11 | at Savannah Country Day |
| Aug. 13 | vs. Calvary Day |
| Aug. 13 | at St. Vincent's |
| Aug. 18 | at The Habersham School |
| Aug. 18 | vs. Savannah Country Day |
| Aug. 20 | vs. New Hampstead |
| Aug. 20 | vs. May River |
| Aug. 25 | vs. Valdosta* |
| Aug. 25 | vs. Camden County* |
| Aug. 27 | at Colquitt County* |
| Aug. 27 | vs. Lee County |
| Sept. 1 | vs. Lowndes* |
| Sept. 1 | at Camden County* |
| Sept. 8 | at Statesboro |
| Sept. 8 | vs. Bradwell Institute |
| Sept. 9 | at Valdosta* |
| Sept. 9 | vs. Maclay |
| Sept. 15 | vs. Colquitt County* |
| Sept. 15 | vs. Savannah Arts Academy |
| Sept. 16 | vs. Islands |
| Sept. 17 | at Savannah Christian |
| Sept. 17 | vs. South Effingham |
| Sept. 22 | vs. Lowndes* |
| Sept. 22 | vs. Glynn Academy |
| Sept. 24 | vs. Savannah Christian |
| Sept. 26 | at East Coweta |
| Sept. 26 | vs. McIntosh |
| Sept. 29 | vs. South Effingham |
| Sept. 29 | at Effingham County |
| Sept. 29 | at Glynn Academy |
| Oct. 1 | vs. Calvary Day |
| Oct. 1 | vs. Brunswick |
* Region match
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Photos by ProShot Media
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