2024-25 Girls Team of the Year: Decatur volleyball. FILE | WCMESSENGER
The hierarchy of the Decatur volleyball program was dealt a massive blow in March 2024 when former coach Catherine Foerster announced her decision to depart the Lady Eagles to become the first leader of new District 7-4A rival Eagle Mountain after four years and back-to-back state titles in 2020 and 2021.
Following a 6-week search for its next coach, Stormi Snider took the reins of the Lady Eagles after a 9-year run with Ponder, which ended with the team’s first outright 10-3A title and a run to the 3A Region II final.
It didn’t take long for the new coach saw the hunger in her team’s eyes — a squad led by its trio of 2021 state champion players in seniors Lara Hornsby, Lilly Lowery and Gracie Trulson, who were determined to end their final season with another state title.
“I knew it would be a challenge, but I was excited and ready for a challenge,” Snider said. “Just from the very beginning when I was coming over during the spring, the girls were ready to get to work — eager ears wanting to hear what I had to tell them. Change is scary, and I’m one to normally grab change and accept it. It honestly was a God thing, and I’m very happy I took that step of faith to come down the road to Decatur.”
Learning from its early mistakes, Decatur bounced back after a pair of league losses, quickly establishing the program as the district’s top club. The Lady Eagled claimed the district title in a 5-set road win over Eagle Mountain — a victory that fueled the team’s run to the 4A Division I crown in Snider’s first campaign.
Adding its sixth state championship trophy, Decatur volleyball has been selected as the 2025 Wise County Messenger Girls Team of the Year.
Decatur volleyball coach Stormi Snider celebrates with libero Aubrie Duncan after winning the 4A Division I state title over Bellvilel 3-1 Nov. 22 at Garland’s Curtis Culwell Center. FILE | WCMESSENGER
“It’s a blessing for our program to win this award, and for our girls to get recognized for all of their hard work this season,” Snider said. “Last season was very special, and I don’t know the words to describe the whole feeling. I’m just very grateful that I got to be a part of it. Our senior group was a pretty big group, and it was amazing to get to be their coach, even if it was just for one year. I’m excited to see the younger girls come back and use that experience to hopefully bring another title home.”
Decatur’s 2024 4AI state championship roster included seniors seniors Peyton Dickson, Aubrie Duncan, Hornsby, Lowery, Raven Noble, Ella Seay, Everett Swift, Trulson and Averi Walsh; juniors Grace Fortune, Greyson Harrison and Tatum Huff; sophomores Hope Escobar, Karoline Hays, Lexie Miller, Harper Smith and Anna Wren; and freshmen Ava Green and Ava Miller.
Joining Snider on the bench were assistant coaches Brooke Cornelison and Morgan May. Team managers were Avery Freeman and Abby Saylor. Abby Grimes and Cynthia Maxwell served as statisticians, and Brandon Pounds was the team’s athletic trainer.
The Lady Eagles finished 32-13 in Snider’s first campaign.
Decatur went 12-2 in the newly-reformed 7-4A league, with its two losses coming against rivals Krum (25-19, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 18-16) at home and Springtown (25-23, 25-23, 15-25, 25-17) on the road.
“There was a shift in the gym after we lost to Springtown because that definitely served as a wake-up call for us,” Snider said. “What we were bringing in wasn’t working, and it was only going to get us only so far. After that loss, we had a team meeting and agreed we were at a fork in the road — it could either chose to let it define our season or pull together, make a change and play for each other. When we got back in the gym, we were more focused and driven than we had been all season.”
The Decatur Lady Eagles celebrate with sixth state championship with a dogpile after defeating Bellville 3-1 Nov. 22, 2024 at Garland’s Curtis Culwell Center. FILE | WCMESSENGER
In their final district match, only one thing stood in the way of the Lady Eagles’ title hopes — Foerster’s Lady Knight squad. With their former coach on the opponent’s bench, the Lady Eagles rallied to force a decisive fifth set. Decatur started the decisive frame out hot with a 3-0 start, but Eagle Mountain trimmed the lead to 1 (7-6), forcing Snider to stop play.
Decatur’s offense sparked an 8-5 run out of the break, as the Lady Eagles outlasted Eagle Mountain in the back-and-forth prize fight to claim a 3-2 victory (20-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 15-11). The win gave Decatur the league’s top seed in the 4AI bracket.
In the postseason, Snider’s squad racked up three gold ball trophies by sweeping Fort Worth Carter-Riverside, Graham and Hereford. Decatur punched its sixth ticket to the state tournament in an 11-year span after knocking out Canyon West Plains in a dramatic, 5-set struggle, 25-11, 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-13.
“We knew West Plains was going to be in our way on the road to state, and I’d like to think they saw us coming from the very beginning,” Snider said. “It definitely was a battle — they had our number in some areas, but we had theirs in other areas, as well. We outgritted them, and the girls were banding together, rooting each other on and picking up the slack. If we had not of had that kind of all-out team effort, our season could have turned in a different direction.”
The Lady Eagles then swept Celina — Decatur’s 2021 4A state final opponent — in the state semifinals, 25-17, 25-22, 25-18, ending the team’s 2-year absence from the state final.
“We played Celina in the season-opener, and that definitely helped us,” Snider said. “There’s a lot of recent history between us and Celina, but I don’t think anyone was interested in stopping the season one game short of the last game of the season.”
Decatur players celebrate after senior outside hitter Lara Hornsby was announced as the 2024 4A Division I state MVP following the team’s 3-1 win over Bellville Nov. 22 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. FILE | WCMESSENGER
Decatur kept its state final record unblemished, finishing the season with a 3-1 victory over Bellville (25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23) in the 4AI state final Nov. 22, 2024 inside Garland’s Curtis Culwell Center — marking the Lady Eagles’ second state championship win over the Brahmanettes (2013).
“To play Bellville — a program with a great track record of getting to the championship match — was a great feeling,” Snider said. “Winning the state title has been something I’ve dreamed about ever since I was a player, and an experience I’ve been wanting as a coach, as well. It was literally a dream come true. All of the credit goes to our girls because they embraced me as their new coach, a lot of them in their last season. Celebrating with them and having that memory is something really special.”
Hornsby, an East Texas Baptist University signee and 2024 All-Wise MVP, grabbed the 4A I state MVP, racking up 16 kills, 16 digs, two aces, two block assists and one assist in her high school finale.
Dickson (19 assists, 13 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces, 2 block assists) and Duncan (17 digs, 3 assists) joined Hornsby on the 4A All-State tournament team.
Snider’s second flight with the Lady Eagles begins on the first day of summer practice Aug. 1.
“I have really high expectations for next season,” she said. “The younger girls who were role players last year are going to have to figure out how to be the go-to players. I know they’re going to step up and be who we need them to be. It might take a little while for them to do that during non-district play, but that’s OK because that’s what that time’s for. We’ve been putting in work since the season ended, and I believe it’s going to be another fun year.”
Wise County Girls Teams of the Year Recipients
- 2010 — Decatur girls cross country
- 2011 — Decatur volleyball
- 2012 — Alvord girls basketball
- 2013 — none*
- 2014 — Decatur volleyball
- 2015 — Decatur volleyball
- 2016 — none*
- 2017 — none*
- 2018 — Boyd volleyball
- 2019 — none*
- 2020 — none*
- 2021 — Decatur volleyball
- 2022 — none*
- 2023 — none*
- 2024 — none*
- 2025 — Decatur volleyball
Editor’s note: Prior to 2025, the Wise County Messenger selected one Team of the Year recipient, with boys and girls teams both considered for the honor. A date with an asterisk (*) denotes years that a boys program was named Team of the Year. To view the Boys Team of the Year, click here.
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