Boys' volleyball has been a club and AAU sport in the state of Kentucky for decades, but the 2025 season marked the first year it was sanctioned at the high school level.
Zachery Cowing is entering the seventh grade, and his love for volleyball began in 2020 when he started playing with his two older sisters, who are liberos. Cowing’s goal coming into camp was just to get better.
“My club season's coming up, so I just want to get better, that’s really why I came. I just love playing volleyball, so I’m here.”
Joshua Callihan started playing after a friend suggested the game. He figured he’d try it out since Fredrick Douglass didn’t have a javelin event for track and field, and he’s been hooked on the sport ever since.
"I also like just meeting new people in the sport. It's fun to learn new things too, but I like the community."
THE SEC-winning Kentucky volleyball coaching staff has hosted a boys volleyball clinic for years, but this year feels a little special.
Volleyball is a lifetime sport for anyone and everyone. However, learning skills from the Wildcat coaches means even more when you can play for some high school hardware.
“It makes me a lot happier to be that much more competitive about it, and it was fun when it was a club,” said Callihan. “But it’s a lot more fun when i get to compete against other people in Kentucky and not just Lexington.”
PJ Marshall is a Kentucky native who has been playing since 7th grade. He now works for the Wildcats and coaches at Franklin County High School! He knows how important it is to spread the joy of boys' volleyball.
"I had some opportunities that some people before me didn’t, and now these kids have a lot of opportunities that I didn’t," said Marshall. "So I’m super excited to see these kids so passionate about the sport and about the opportunities that are in front of them.”
Zach and Joshua Stowe are brothers. Zach is a junior playing at Penn State, while Joshua starts his collegiate career at Geneva College this fall. Both fortunate to have parents dedicated to the sport, are now using their passion to teach younger players. The Stowes played for Bluegrass Lightning, a club formed in 2020 to continue advancing boys' volleyball in central Kentucky.
“We started with two teams, we were very small,” shared Zach Stowe. The club just kept expanding as interest grew, and more high schools adding on teams, and now it’s a sanctioned sport in Kentucky. So that’s just been cool to be a part of and see it rise as I grow with the sport."
Whether falling into volleyball because their friends suggested it, or your parents are in their alma mater’s hall of fame, the future of boys' volleyball in Kentucky looks bright.
These kids are super passionate, super athletic, and fun to watch, so anything you can do, invest in your local high school,” Marshall said. “It’ll be really good for those high school communities and those younger kids who are really looking to get into it.”
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