Faith Academy volleyball players are why coach said yes to the program
CAPTION: Faith Academy football head coach and assistant track coach Jay Silvers with his wife, Lady Flames volleyball head coach Rebekah Silvers. Courtesy photo
Rebekah Silvers smiled when asked why she said yes to being the head coach of the Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball program. After all, it has five returning seniors and two returning starters, juniors Ella Claiborne and Olivia Kraenzel, and most were on the 2024 team that was a state semifinalist of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
“That’s exactly why I decided to take it on is that I knew what I was stepping into, and I knew that (former head coach Erin) Sawyer had set up a beautiful program that would allow me to step in, and just feel like I could take these girls and take what they have already worked so hard for and just continue that forward progress,” Silvers said. “We have eight varsity returning players — that’s incredible — and five of them are seniors, which is exciting.”
The seniors are Ava Beltran, Ella Chavira, Avalynn Eppler, Reese Ramsey and Kerrington Silvers, the coach’s daughter.
“That’s really why I took it on is because I just felt like the program had been set up so well that I along with (new assistant coach) Emma Lewis could just step in and take these girls, hopefully, to the next level,” Rebekah Silvers said. “These girls are great.”
The elder Silvers has coached at Faith before. She was the assistant softball coach when the sport was offered about five years ago. She also is married to a coach. Husband Jay is the academy’s football head coach and assistant track coach. And in addition to Kerrington, the couple have a son, Landon, who will be a junior this year.
And the Silvers know the student-athletes well. Rebekah Silvers is the academy’s academics director and elementary school principal.
The volleyball team has some starting roles to fill, including at libero and middle blocker. Beltran has been working extensively in the back row and played there last year. Junior middle blocker Elizabeth Neely was moved up to the varsity from the junior varsity when Miley Fessler and Natalie Weems were sidelined. Both graduated in May.
But the starting outside hitters are set with Claiborne and Kerrington Silvers and at setter with Kraenzel. The three have played significant rotations together for a long time and know each other very well.
Rebekah Silvers recalled the conversation with athletic director Zakk Revelle, the one where the question of who would take over the program was asked.
“I wear a lot of hats,” she said. “I feel like this was something that I just was really, really excited about. I kind of mentioned a little bit with Emma, and then it just kept playing on my heart. And I just kept thinking ‘we have a great program.’ And I just want to step in and really, I want to help build the culture of the girls. To me, it’s bigger than just volleyball on the court. It’s more about these girls and just helping them understand basically life and how to be successful on and off the court, how to respect one another, how to encourage one another.”
The Lady Flames begin official practices for the 2026 season Aug. 3 in The Fire Pit on the Faith campus. Then they travel to Llano Monday, Aug. 10, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow.
