Jessica Phelan, Fayetteville (Arkansas) volleyball getting national recognition

By Steve Andrews  

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Although her humility would never allow her to admit it, Jessica Phelan has been the proverbial “Queen of Volleyball” in Arkansas for more than 25 years. 

She remains the most decorated volleyball player to ever take the court for University of Arkansas, and over the past 20 years as the head coach at Fayetteville High School, she has created one of the state’s premier programs.

Closing in on 500-career coaching victories, Phelan has the Bulldogs poised to win their third straight Class 6A state title and the seventh of her career. Fayetteville is 29-2 overall this season, winning 75 of the 82 sets they have played, and has yet to lose a set to a team from inside the state. 

“We’ve obviously had a great start to our season,” the always calm, soft-spoken Phelan said. “But what’s cool for me is to see these girls start as junior high kids and look up to the older players, then they become the older players and carry on that legacy. They have been at championships that they didn’t play in, and now that became a big dream for them to win that championship last year. They just want to chase that dream again, together.”

The former Jessica Field is a native of Hermann, Mo., and first arrived in Fayetteville as a member of the Razorbacks volleyball team in 1995. Over the next four seasons, she set numerous team records while leading the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including her senior year when Arkansas advanced to the Round of 16. She became the program’s first All-American, while also being named a first-team Academic All American in 1998. She was inducted into the Razorback Hall of Honor in 2011. Then in 2018, Phelan was selected to represent Arkansas as a Southeastern Conference Legend.

As a high school player at Hermann High School, she was a two-time state champion, a two-time all-state player and broke the 2A state tournament record for kills and blocks. 

“Having her as a coach is definitely an opportunity that not everybody gets to have, and you know she knows what she’s talking about because she has been through it, as a player and a coach,” senior Evan Moore said. “Coach Phe is always on top of everything and gets things done with a very organized practice, and it helps us get better really quickly. We set goals and we work together to reach those goals.”

Fayetteville is a virtual lock to advance it to its 17th straight state tournament later this month. The Bulldogs have made it to the finals in 10 of those years and have won five titles in the past seven years.

“I don’t think there is really any big secrets to success,” said Phelan, who is also the school’s AP Psychology teacher. “I think it just takes a lot of hard work and a lot of buy-in from the kids. They are the ones out there grinding when no one is watching. So, for us, it’s just success builds on success. We have kids that want to be a part of it, and they work hard to continue that legacy.

“As a coaching staff, we are lucky, because we have kids that, one, are coachable, and two, they just have the desire to be good at what they do. So, I think that sets the foundation and makes our job easy.”

Not only is Fayetteville the top team in the state, but the Bulldogs have also gained recognition across the country in numerous national high school volleyball polls this season, landing as high as No. 3 in one. They recently competed in the prestigious Durango Classic in Las Vegas, a stacked 64-team tournament that included some of the nations’ top programs. After advancing all the way to the semi-finals unbeaten, they eventually fell to Marymount High School out of Los Angeles and brought home the third-place trophy. Seniors Kennedy Phelan, the coach’s daughter, and Brooke Rockwell earned all-tournament honors.

“We do try to find non-conference tournaments that are going to be a challenge for our kids,” Phelan said. “The Durango Classic included 10 teams ranked in the Top 25 nationally, including eight undefeated teams. In a tournament like that there are no games off. You’re going to be facing elite teams every game. We played teams from California, Hawaii, all over, and were able to take third, which we are very proud of. Especially for our girls who worked so hard to get there.”

Getting the national recognition is something she appreciates for her own program as well the light it shines on Arkansas as a whole for its strong volleyball play throughout the state.

“Arkansas high school volleyball has really grown, so for me to have seen the increased production of the sport in this state, it’s cool to get that recognition – not only for us, but for the state in general,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of great athletes, great players and great teams here in Arkansas. So, for others outside of the state to recognize that is pretty cool.”

After exploring another career choice straight out of college, Phelan is grateful that she was eventually led to Fayetteville High School with an opportunity to remain in the area and continue being a part of the sport that shaped her own life.

“Volleyball is a sport that gave me a lot as a student-athlete, so that became one of the motivators to get into coaching and give back to a sport that I gained a lot from,” she said. “And that’s still the coolest part of the job is to see kids achieve their dreams. We’ve been able to see kids succeed, not only in volleyball, but in life. I feel like the friendships and the relationships they build is great to see, too. 

“We just try to teach our kids to just trust the process, especially being so senior-laden this year. You don’t want to put so much focus on the end result but focus on what we are doing today. It’s cliché to say, ‘one day at a time,’ but I feel that’s how you really get there. You have to make those steady improvements and be playing your best volleyball at the end.”

The Bulldogs already have five players committed to play Division I volleyball at the collegiate level. That includes seniors Kennedy Phelan, who will attend Florida State, Rockwell, who is headed to Stanford to play beach volleyball, and Maddie LaFata, who will attend Dartmouth. Senior Ella Weilert and junior Regan Harp will both attend Central Arkansas. Weilert will play beach volleyball and Harp plans to play both, beach and indoors, for the Lady Bears.

“It’s incredible, honestly, to be a part of this team,” LaFata said. “To watch it grow from when I was a freshman, and now being a part of the team as a senior, it’s been insane. And the national recognition is amazing, a super surreal experience. We just have great team chemistry because we’ve been playing together for such a long time and we all generally love each other and love playing together.”

Phelan also describes coaching her daughter as a “unique experience.” Kennedy, the Bulldogs’ 5-foot-8 setter, was named the 2021 6A state tournament MVP and the All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Year last season, then capped that off by being awarded the 2021-22 Gatorade Arkansas Volleyball Player of the Year.

“When we’re on the court, I don’t really think of her as my daughter -- I think of her as my setter,” Jessica Phelan said. “But as this senior year winds down, it’s not just her, but these kids have all been playing together for a long time, so those moments are going to get a little more bitter-sweet here over the next four weeks.”

With the team rolling through straight-set victories against other 6A opponents in the state this season, she continues to set various goals to keep her players from getting complacent down the stretch. 

“We just continue to set goals for the kids and keep them concentrating on how we play on our side of the net,” she said. “Eliminating unforced errors, keep being aggressive and keep communicating. Control the things that we can control.”

She has been rumored at times to be a candidate for a return to the Razorbacks’ bench, possibly as the head coach. But at this point her entire focus is on continuing to build the program across Stadium Drive, inside the purple gymnasium. Her husband, Darin, is a Fayetteville native and the school’s tennis coach. In addition to Kennedy, the couple also has two younger sons, Tyler and Lucas.

“For me, I’m where I’m supposed to be,” she said. “I enjoy coaching high school because it’s a new journey every year. And this is just a good place to be.”