As the only all-American unit in the rugged Western Junior College Athletic Conference, the Amarillo College volleyball team forged an unprecedented path to success with one of the youngest rosters in the country this fall.

The Badgers were the lone team at the NJCAA Division I level to earn a national ranking featuring a roster exclusively from the U.S.

AC tallied a program-best 18 wins and had its highest conference finish since the reboot of athletics at Amarillo College in 2022.

And while AC came up short of making the postseason due to a tiebreaker for fourth place, the program’s trajectory is on the rise under third-year head coach Scott Sandel.

“This year was a really big step toward accomplishing the overall goal of becoming a program where we’re playoff-bound every year. Putting a good product out and representing the community well,” Sandel explained. “I think the overall dynamics of the program are much better, team roster, talent, and you look at the ability to have home court advantage. Our notoriety has grown with that.”

AC ended their season on Nov. 1 in Snyder against Western Texas College with a resounding road sweep (25-21, 25-14, 25-23).

Sandel’s squad recorded their highest hitting percentage (.279) against a conference opponent versus the Westerners. AC’s offensive attack was led by Emery Bryan, Delany Galligan, and Jaelynn Jackson.

The latter finished her Badger career with a team-high hitting percentage (.667), tallying six kills on nine total attempts. Jackson, a Royse City native, concluded her time at AC with the second-best hitting percentage mark in a single season (.259) in team history.
The freshmen duo of Bryan and Galligan, who both previously earned WJCAC Player of the Week honors, combined for 17 kills on 30 total attempts.

Galligan notched a team-high 11 kills via a .500 clip, and Bryan added six kills at a .417 hitting percentage.

The Argyle High School product, Galligan, ends the 2025 campaign as the new program record holder for hitting percentage in a single season (.296).

Bryan etched her name in the record book, along with Jackson and Galligan, as the Poolville High School alum accumulated the third-highest hitting clip (.244) in team history.

Freshman setter London Baker dished out a team-best 17 assists against Western Texas College. The Hereford native set the program record for assists in a single season (628) by a substantial margin.

Baker surpassed the previous record by 56 assists.

AC drops Sophomore Day match versus No. 11 Frank Phillips

Amarillo College was the only team to defeat the 11th-ranked Plainsmen in the first cycle of conference play.

The Badgers put forth arguably their best performance of the season when they downed FPC on their home turf in four sets on Oct. 4.

Frank Phillips College avenged the loss with a four-set victory (25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 25-19) over the Badgers on Oct. 29.

Gina Fontanez – a freshman outside hitter from Puerto Rico – tallied a match-high 15 kills on 36 swings. The Lady Plainsmen’s 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Poland, Gabriela Spychala, added a team-best .350 hitting percentage via nine kills on 20 total attempts.

Bryan paced the Badgers with 12 kills via a .308 hitting percentage and four blocks, leading AC in both departments.