The sport of volleyball was raised to another plateau during the 2016 season, and nowhere was that more the case than here in Bowie.
The Lady Rabbits’ march toward history began in the Bowie High School locker room after the team lost to Gunter in the bi-district round in 2015.
“That’s where it all started,” Bowie head coach Jeanie Stark said. “What happened this season started with that Gunter loss. We knew we could beat them.”
Stark, who build the Bowie volleyball program from scratch during the course of the past two decades, guided the Lady Rabbits to a school-record 29 wins and first-ever trip to the regional semifinals.
Although Bowie lost to Shallowater in a hard-fought, grueling five-set thriller, the Lady Rabbits have set the tone for the future.
Bowie finished second overall in District 3A-8, behind Boyd. And the Lady Rabbits needed to beat Holliday three times, twice during the district rotation and then in the wild-swinging regional quarterfinal at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
“It was a special season due to the work the seniors put in, and the dedication to each other,” Stark said.
The Bowie News decided this year to have a large-school and a small-school team.
The large-school team is made up of the six Lady Rabbit seniors and four deserving players from Nocona. Read more in the Jan. 14 Bowie News, either in print or with your electronic edition.

The Midwestern State University pledge Addy Cook was a Texas Girls Coaches Association all-state selection, and also a first-team all-state choice on the Texas Association of Volleyball Coaches 3A squad. Cook pounded down 544 kills and recorded a .234 attack percentage for the Lady Rabbits, and she also had 280 digs and 45 solo ace blocks. Cook is shown here with her trophy for making the regional tournament team at Lubbock. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)