Marble Falls volleyball looks to build on most successful season

CAPTION: Senior middle blocker Amaris Mitchell-Ochoa gathers for her teammates between points to talk about what to do next. Staff photos by Jennifer Fierro

After a season for the record books, the Marble Falls High School volleyball team is looking to continue that success in 2026.

The Lady Mustangs took that step while competing in the Llano spring league last month and several participated in the first week of the program’s summer strength and conditioning program better known as Forge this week.

Head coach Zoey Beard-Hanrahan, who is entering her second year at the helm, reflected on a busy final month of the spring semester and the start of what she believes will be an impactful summer for her players.

“The whole point of that (Llano) league is to just get competitive reps,” she said. “During the offseason I can’t coach more than just the allotted time within the (athletic) period and so it is really important for my girls to get out there and get as many reps as possible, because the best way to get better is just continuous competitive reps, whether that’s scrimmaging and practices or going to a non-coach sanctioned league like the summer league or spring league Llano hosted. It’s just really effective at making sure that everyone stays real raw.”

During the second week of the league, several of the returners weren’t in attendance because of another school conflict. That allowed Caydence Bielfeldt an opportunity to set for the Lady Mustangs.

Bielfeldt, who also is a powerlifter for her dad and head coach Karl “Beef” Bielfeldt, spends a lot of time on the volleyball court improving her skills away from Marble Falls High School.

“Caydence is in her club season right now,” Beard-Hanrahan said. “And so she’s getting so many reps, and I see she has gotten significantly better at just the control of her hands and being unpredictable where that set goes – that’s extremely effective as a setter. Of course, we haven’t had tryouts yet. So I don’t know what teams anyone is going to be on, but there’s high chances that she will be one that steps up because I see the things that I need in a setter from Caydence and (senior Hannah) Welch. Welch just has the experience. She has the consistency when she’s on the court. I just haven’t had the chance to see her very much, just because she splits time between volleyball and soccer, but that girl stays active, she stays ready to go. It’s just finding that rhythm with her hitters again and I think it can come relatively quickly as long as she gets in there.”

The coach noted the league provided much of what the Lady Mustangs needed to jumpstart their summer work. After all, volleyball season begins Aug. 1 when players and coaches begin two-a-day practices. By the end of the week, selections for varsity are complete and scrimmages begin Aug. 7.

The Llano league included Burnet, Faith Academy of Marble Falls and Lampasas. There were no officials while two matches were happening at the same time. The league is designed to allow players to call their own plays, sub on their own and make other in-game decisions.

And though Beard-Hanrahan remains proud of what the 2025 team accomplished by capturing two playoff victories, the program is aiming to add to that success.

“We came a long way this year and I don’t want to take a step backward, so I’m going to push even harder this year with my expectations and what I need each position to do specifically,” she said. “Because now we have to build on the elements that we started from which was my base. So again great year. But if we can get all of the components where I want them to be, we can go even further.”

CAPTION: Setter Caydence Bielfeldt’s many skills are obvious on the court.