LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates volleyball team enters year four of the Emily Hayes era with a strong combination of returners and young talent as the Bobcats look to have a breakthrough year in the NESCAC. Bates opens its season Wednesday night when the Bobcats host Husson University at 6:30 in Alumni Gym.

 "I don't know that I've ever coached a team that loves each other and trusts each other more," Hayes said. "I want to see our years of culture work, depth and competitive work, and just technical training come into play this season." 

Bates is led by junior captain Ami Evans (Honolulu, Hawaii), who ranked 15th in the NESCAC with 2.45 kills per set a year ago. She is joined on the team by fellow players from Hawaii Ellie Asada '26 (Honolulu, Hawaii), Logan Yogi '27 (Kaneohe, Hawaii), and rookie Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, Hawaii). 

"It's such a small island and we're like family," Evans said. "I want Emily to keep recruiting more people from Hawaii." 

Evans is one of four captains this year for Bates, as seniors Julia Neumann (Norwell, Mass.), Chrissy Chu (Old Tappan, N.J.), and Katie Kortekaas (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) join her in a leadership group that gives Bates a strong foundation for the upcoming season.

"They're all so different from each other," Hayes said. "And it's really awesome to see them come into their own. One thing that we're trying to empower as coaches is we want Ami to be the best Ami leader she can be, and Julia the best Julia leader she can be, and so forth. We're not trying to make anybody be anybody that they're not."

Other statistical leaders from the past year to keep an eye on include sophomore Sofia Castiglioni (Berkeley, Calif.), who ranked third on the team in kills per set, and senior Kate Hansen (Menlo Park, Calif.), who ranked third in service aces per set. 

Hayes welcomes a new assistant coach, fellow Texan Grace Kenningham, who comes to the Bobcats from Roger Williams University. Hayes describes Kenningham as a "rock star" and the coaching duo got their first look at their squad in action last Friday when the Bobcats competed in a "Garnet and White" First Serve inter-squad scrimmage in front of a good-sized crowd at Alumni Gym. 

"We've got a lot of depth and competition in our gym, and that is visible," Hayes said. "People are just continuing to raise their level of game because the people next to them are making them better. It's really cool to see that, along with the versatility. There's a whole new level of scrappiness in our gym this year." 

With seven first-years giving the veterans a run for their money on the court, Hayes is looking forward to seeing things play out this season.

"We have worked so diligently to make this a program that we're proud of, and the ceiling is high for this team," Hayes said. "We're excited to just lean into each other this year and focus on ourselves."