Eckart is at the helm of EVA for the eight season as the Club Director.  Eckart begins her 26th season of coaching which includes division 1 college and club. 
In the sixth season of EVA, Eckart's teams reached USAV Nationals podium with two teams medaling. Bronze medal for EVA 14 Elite in 14 Freedom and bronze medal for EVA 17 Elite in 17 Freedom at the USAV Nationals in Chicago. 

Tanja Eckart is a 2012 UA Little Rock Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee and is the only volleyball player in the school history to receive this honor.
The most recent coaching recognition for Eckart was being named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 2020 16’s Coach of the Year. This is a special award because it is on the national level among all clubs in the nation. Eckart won this award while leading her 2020/21 EVA 16 National Team to 22-8 season.
Coach Eckart’s college coaching experience includes seven years of Division I coaching; four years as an assistant at UALR and three years as an assistant at Florida International University.  In these roles as NCAA division I assistant, she had the opportunity to serve as a recruiter which provided her with the knowledge of what coaches are looking for in recruits to give her experience to guide players today in their recruiting process.  Along with recruiting process knowledge she has many connections with coaches currently at different levels from junior colleges to four year universities at different divisions. 

She also has 25 years of coaching club level experience (6U - 18U) at various clubs:  Little Rock Juniors, South Florida VB, Miami Elite and her own Elite Volleyball Academy. 

Alongside running Eckart VB, skills & player development trainings, clinics and camps for the past eight years, in the fall of 2017 Eckart formed Elite Volleyball Academy.  EVA in it's inaugural season had three teams (12's, 14's and 15's). All three teams enjoyed a lot of success which Eckart contributes to the coaching philosophy and principles implemented to create hard-working and positive environment paired with quality of training and knowledgeable coaches provided at EVA. In the second season EVA served seven teams and the biggest success was achieved by EVA 15 National team lead by Eckart as they reached their goal and qualified for the Junior National Championship in Indianapolis. EVA looks to continue to grow slowly and methodically to continue to be the leader in quality of service provided. In 2020/21 season Eckart's EVA 16 National team won ASICS Show Me national qualifier and earned a bid for 16 USA for USA National Championship held in Las Vegas. That was a huge achievement as it was the first time that team from central Arkansas won a national qualifier in USA division. 

Coach Eckart has over 20 years of experience coaching summer volleyball camps at various universities across the nation including UALR, FIU, the University of Florida, the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.  Additionally, she has 17 years of experience of personally organizing and running camps including three years of university camps at FIU as well as eight years of experience running “Eckart VB Camps” which include Little Spikers, Pass.Set.Hit., Volley Jams, and Elite VB Camps.  Upon her return from Miami to Little Rock coach Eckart saw the need for beginners volleyball programs and started and lead Future Stars for five years. Since its inception in 2013, the program has had much success exposing hundreds of young players, ages 7-12, to the wonderful sport of volleyball and changing the culture in central AR of when young players get involved in volleyball.  For many players it use to mean 7th grade when they had an opportunity to play on a school team, but with program like Future Starts players had a way of learning the skill and the game as young as 1st grade.  Consequently with beginners programs, the growth of interest in volleyball and a younger age when players got involved, many schools caught on and started offering volleyball beginning in the 5th grade.

As a player, Tanja played four years for UALR (1997-2000) and won many individual and team awards including Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the year (1997); Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year (2000); three-time All-Sun Belt Tournament Selection (1998, 1999, 2000); and was the only player in UALR school history picked four times to 1st All-Conference Team (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000).  In her four years on campus, the team had three NCAA Tournament Appearances, captured three Sun Belt Conference Tournament Titles (1997, 1998, 2000) and three Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Titles (1997, 1999, 2000).  As she finished her collegiate career she held many school records including UALR all-time leader in kills (1,710) – a record that stood for 14 years, UALR career leader in hitting attempts (4,211) – 21 years later 2nd on the career list, UALR career leader in service aces (222) – currently still holding the record and UALR career leader in digs (1,156) – currently 5th on all time list.

In 2005, Eckart was the only UALR vb player named to the All-Time Sun Belt Volleyball team as part of the league's 30th anniversary celebration. 

After graduating in 2001, she was part of the United States Professional Volleyball (USPV) league selected through tryout phase in which she was one in total of 11 players picked among 120 to play professional volleyball for USPV.  The league had four teams which were comprised of nation's top VB players and 11 picked from the tryout phase.  Tanja was drafted by Chicago Thunder and had the opportunity to practice and play among nations top players including teammates like Jennifer Kessy, 2012 USA Olympic Silver Medalist in Beach Volleyball, Penn State standouts Terri Zemaitis-Boumans and Bonnie Bremner to name just few but the league consisted of players who played for the top vb programs in the nation (USC, UCLA, Penn State, Stanford,..) and many went on to represent USA in the Olympics like Lindsey Berg in indoor and Jennifer Kessy and Nicole Branagh in beach volleyball. 

Over the years Tanja continued to participate as a player in many USA Open National Championships in various cities (Minneapolis, Phoenix, Orlando, Austin) -2007 being the most memorable as the team won gold in A division.  Over the last 10 years Eckart also played in countless sand volleyball tournaments especially while living in Miami , Florida for 8 years.  Playing sand volleyball is still today her favorite activity.

Eckart, Croatia native, graduated with a Bachelor of Business with emphasis in Management from UALR in 2001 and with a Masters in Business Administration in 2004 also from UALR.  She is married to John Eckart since July of 2004 and the couple has two sons Filip (16 yo) and Daniel (12 yo). 

Coach Pagie has been with EVA since its start in 2017. She served in many coaching roles and has been promoted to EVA Assistant Club Director in the fall of 2024. She will be assisting in areas of coach mentoring, club operations, in-practice recourses, recruiting needs for EVA athletes, program planning, and more.
Coach Paige Gantar is 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 16's Club Coach of the Year! We are so extremely proud of coach Paige and all that the pours in to build EVA and all the athletes. 

Paige is in her fifth season as a Head Varsity Coach at Episcopal Collegiate School (ECS) and Lower School Physical Education teacher, seventh season as EVA Head Coach, and 14th season of coaching all together.  Paige took over ECS Varsity Volleyball in the summer of 2020 and has transformed it past the recognition. ECS Varsity finished the 2022 season as a runner up. 2021 season the Wild Cats were 3A Conference Champions while Coach Paige was named Conference Coach of the Year. Paige also received a huge recognition from AVCA by being name to the AVCA 30 Under 30 List.  
Paige has been coaching club for the last 14 seasons.  She is returning to her eighth season with EVA as the coach for the highest level team. She graduated from Mount Carmel Academy, in New Orleans, LA, where she was part of the All-Star Team in 2009. She received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (2009-2011), graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in Health Science. While at UALR, Paige was named Mississippi State's All Tournament player, Memphis University's All Tournament player and attended the Sunbelt Conference tournament every year. She finished her senior year at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and led her team to an undefeated season (21-0) finishing as Southland Conference Champions and holding the overall highest hitting percentage as a middle blocker. She graduated from UCA with a Masters of Science in Health Science in 2015. During her time at both UALR and UCA, Paige was awarded with the Sunbelt Conference Academic Honor Roll, the Southland Academic Honor Roll, Deans List and Chancellors List.

Prior to joining EVA eights years ago, Paige was a head coach for Little Rock Juniors (10U-12); Arkansas Eagles (independent club 16s), and NOLA Volleyball (13s & 14s). 

In 2018/19 season Paige was the Head coach for EVA 13 Regional team and led them to an impressive 4th overall rank in the Delta Region out of 97 teams in 13U age group. Last club season 2019/20, was cut short due to COVID-19, but Coach Paige's 13's regional team was showing incredible amount of growth and improvement in what turned out to be a short season for all. In 2020/21 season, Paige led EVA 14 National team to 46th placement at USA Junior National Championship in the National division. In 2021/22 season Paige lead 16 Elite team and won three tournaments while playing in an age group up. 

We are extremely proud to see coach Paige continue to excel in professional career as we see her growth over the years and how she "arrived" at coaching philosophy that perfectly aligns with EVA culture. 

Markie starting her fifth year as EVA's highest level coach. She has a wealth of knowledge of the high level volleyball systems and is a perfect fit for high level teams along with her excitable and positive coaching style.

Markie was named Head Varsity Coach for the historic Central High School in the spring of 2021 and in the short time transformed the program with her focus on skill improvement and changing the culture. In her first season already Central has won more matches than Central teams combined in the last seven seasons.  In her first season she lead the Tigers to their first State Championship tournament after close to twenty years of drought.

Markie played for Arkansas State University and graduated with Occupational Therapy degree. After getting her undergraduate degree she served as a student assistant coach for the A-State volleyball program on 2017-2018 while obtaining her Masters in OT. 

During her time with Red Wolves' she was working with defensive specialists and liberos. The team averaged 15.42 digs per set.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Schaedig helped coach the team's back row and libero, the position she excelled at for the last three seasons at A-State. She was the program's first All-American with Honorable Mention honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in 2014 and claimed the accolade once again to become the Red Wolves' first two-time All-American.

Additionally, Alberius was a three-time Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year from 2014-16 and was First-Team All-SBC all three of those seasons. She garnered AVCA All-Southwest Region accolades from 2014-16 and finished with the third most digs in school history with 2,153 during her four-year career. She set the school record for digs in a season in 2014 with 762 and led the nation with a 6.68 per set mark.

Markie played for Little Rock Christian Academy as four time varsity player and led LRCA to the 5A state championship match in her junior and senior seasons. She was named All-Conference, All-State, and All-State Tournament all four years of high school career. She was elected as one of the top 25 volleyball players in the state of Arkansas after freshman season. 

Sawyer is one of the core coaches who built EVA from its beginning in 2017. After couple EVA seasons Sawyer and her family relocated to Georgia where she continued to coach for local clubs before returning to Little Rock in 2022 and continuing to coach with EVA and have leadership role as a Master coach since she was part of building the original principles of the club and knows the culture to the core. 
Coach Sawyer has young family so for the season of life where she was, the best fit was to coach regional plus team along with continuing to be in master coach role. 
Sawyer has 14 years of coaching experience with different age groups from 10-18u

Sawyer played for Midland College (2009-2011) and then went on to UALR (2011-2013) where she played under Coach Compton and graduated with a Health Education degree. During her 4-year collegiate career she mainly played setter but also played outside
hitter when needed. After completing undergraduate degree, she went on to serve as a student assistant coach for the UALR volleyball program from 2013-2014 while working on her Master's in Education.
Sawyer is Little Rock native and played for Little Rock Christian Academy where she was named All-Conference and All-State.  Sawyer is married to Mason and the couple has two daughters Paxton(3) and Sutton (2).

Charlotte is returning to Elite Volleyball Academy for the second season serving as national level coach. She is currently the assistant coach for Little Rock Christian Academy varsity volleyball team where she is coaching for her ninth year. During her time on the Little Rock Christian volleyball staff she has won multiple Conference Championships as the head coach for the freshman team and helped to lead the Warriors to a State Championship in 2021. 

Charlotte grew up in Benton, and was a part of their inaugural volleyball team in 2002. She joined the team without any knowledge of the game and by the end of her senior year she helped to lead Benton to their first conference championship as a setter /outside hitter and was named all-conference in 2006. She had her start in coaching, helping in camps and serving as a volunteer for the program after graduating from Arkansas Tech University in 2010.

She later served as a coach and director for a local club offering more young women the opportunity to play in Saline County. In her years as director Charlotte helped to grow the club from serving 20 to over 70 young women. Over her 6 years with the club she coached one to two teams per year, while her elite level teams would go on to win multiple gold bracket championships. 

In 2017 Charlotte stepped away from coaching club volleyball after she and her husband had their twin boys (Charles and Cooper) who have just started kindergarten. She is excited to get back into the world of club volleyball and offer her talents to more of the young women in central Arkansas

Charlotte prides herself on her ability to hold her players to high standards while consistently reassessing player strengths/weaknesses. She values player/coach relationships and finds a strong relationship creates room for honest feedback and player development. She believes when a player truly believes their coach wants the best for them they find the freedom to perform their best and grow into their full potential. 

Charlotte’s ability to analyze statistics and game trends to zero in on a team and players’ biggest opportunities for growth has been a great asset to Little Rock Christian’s volleyball program over the last 8 years. While coaching for Little Rock Christian she also serves as an honors algebra teacher and loves using the same skills she uses to teach her students math to help communicate volleyball skills/corrections in different ways for her players.

Taylor is entering her third season with EVA, eighth season overall coaching club. The 2023-2024 season brought success and learning at the 14’s level. 14 National ended in the top 11% of the country in the 14’s overall division. 18th of 133 teams in the 14’s Delta Regional Standings, 23rd overall at the AAU National Qualifier in Orland, 2nd overall finish at the Ozark Invitational, 7th overall at President’s Day Classic in St. Louis and 23rd overall in the American Division at Lone Star Classic Qualifier. 

2022 - 2023 Season: 16 - Navy finished in the top 15 of 87 teams in the Delta Region. Recording 26 wins and 7 losses overall for the season, taking second place, multiple third places and a fifth place in various tournaments. 



Taylor played her high school career at Central Arkansas Christian (2007- 2010) as a setter, utility player earning an All Conference Honor her senior year. During club seasons she played with Little Rock Juniors (16s/18s) as a libero/DS and Fatchmo Volley (18s) as a libero. She went on to play a season with Harding University Bison (DII) as a DS before pursuing other interests.

She has coached a variety of ages over the years. Taylor started her school coaching career as Head Junior Varsity and Assistant Varsity coach for Central Arkansas Christian Schools in North Little Rock for the last four years. She is currently the Head 7th Grade and Assistant Junior High Coach at Little Rock Christian Academy. 

Victoria is Junior High 7th grade Coach at Episcopal Collegiate School (ESC). She has been coaching club for EVA the last three season and is returning for her fourth season once again in the role of a national level head coach coach. Victoria's coaching style is a great balance of high expectation and hype energy for her team. She has a great game and skill knowledge along with great team leadership abilities. 
Victoria played and started at Cabot all three years from 2012-2015. She went on to play at Ouachita Baptist University. While at OBU, Victoria and her team won the GAC conference tournament in 2016. The fondest memory from the championship is that she hit perfect hitting percentage (very, very rare in volleyball). She also has coaching experience in a local club in Arkadelphia where she coached 14U team. 
Victoria graduated in May of 2020 with a BA in Biology with a minor in Psychology. Victoria is currently receiving her Doctor of Occupational Therapy at UCA.

Coach Riley is entering her second-year of coaching with EVA and adds a wealth of coaching knowledge and experience of 9+ including college coaching. Riley and her husband welcomed their first child, so with the season of life that she is as the entered motherhood Riley will be non-traveling assistant present in practices and team's development. She will travel as permitted with her family obligations. 
Riley is originally from southern Utah. As a high school athlete she was named the Utah High School Female Athlete of the Year in 2015. She played at Snow College as an underclassmen where she helped her team win the Conference Regular Season. She was named the Conference Player of the Year as well as NJCAA and AVCA All-American. She transferred to BYU where she was a part of the 2018 NCAA Tournament Final Four team and 2019 NCAA Tournament Second-Round team.
Riley coached one year as the First Assistant at Utah Tech University before moving to Little Rock. Her and her sister are co-owners of Lyman Volleyball Camps where she teaches individual skills as well as team offense and defense. She has been coaching for 9+ years and we are excited to add her to our great staff. 

Hannah will serve as EVA Media Assistant and help provide content to EVA's social media to bring the excitement about our program, share EVA's core values, celebrate EVA team's success and more. 
Both coaches have been involved with EVA for seven seasons in different capacity from head coaches to floaters to assistants.

Hannah is a Sherwood, Arkansas, native with five years of high school volleyball experience, three years of club volleyball play, and 12 years of recreational competition. At 5'11, positions played have included both middle and right side hitter. Hannah graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, in 2011 and a Master of Business Administration degree in management and business ethics in 2016 also from Harding.

She currently serves as the director of digital media for CAC as well as JV Head and Varsity assistant coach. Prior to CAC, Hannas was director of digital media for Harding University. She is married to Taylor Owens, with whom she frequently plays volleyball, and lives in Maumelle.  

Hannah started at EVA as floater coach during the season 2018/19 and helped several teams in their practice development but spent most of her coaching time with EVA 12 Regional Team which was ranked 12th overall in Delta Region our of 73 teams. Taylor joined mid-season as a volunteer coach and rediscovered the joy for coaching alongside his wife. 

Taylor first started playing recreational volleyball in college at Harding University. After competing on men’s and co-ed intramural teams at Harding, he continued to pursue volleyball in local indoor, grass and sand tournaments and leagues around central Arkansas. 

Taylor graduated from Harding University with a Bachelor's degree in accounting. He has been working in the accounting department at Dillard's since 2017. He has been practice assistant for multiple teams over the years. Last year he mainly helped with EVA 16 Elite under Tanja Eckart.

We are thrilled to have Hannah and Taylor return as a c0-head coaches to the EVA staff and lead our regional 12U team. 

We are thrilled to have Alexis on the EVA coaching staff for a second year as she has been one of the players during her high school years who trained with Coach Eckart so the relationship with EVA continues now in the coaching role.  Alexis has been involved in the volleyball world for quite a while. She is a Little Rock native who attended Baptist Prep Middle & High School. Alexis was one of the volleyball program founders, starting her 7th grade year, which was the first year Baptist Prep offered volleyball for any age. She played as the libero for both her school and club teams, where she had the ability to compete nationally during the club season and travel across the state of Arkansas for school volleyball.

Her senior year of high school, Alexis helped lead her team to the state championship for the first time in program history. She was nominated for All-Conference, All-State, and All-Tournament during her four years on Varsity (2014-2018). After her senior year, she accepted an academic scholarship to the University of Alabama, but still prioritized volleyball by playing for Alabama’s large intermural program on both all-girls and co-ed teams. Alexis is currently working in Arkansas while pursuing her master's degree in public health at UAMS. She spent her college years teaching yoga and spin class, so she is not new to coaching athletics, but she is looking forward to another great year as a volleyball coach. Alexis is excited to encourage young athletes to work hard and be passionate in all they do this year at EVA.

 Mikaela Taylor is returning for her fourth season with EVA, advancing to the national level. She served as the head coach for the 14 Navy team, where her leadership helped the team consistently reach the gold bracket in every tournament. One of their standout achievements was securing second place at Volley in the Rock. Mikaela’s coaching philosophy emphasizes not only success on the court but also mastering the fundamentals of volleyball. She focused heavily on proper technique, skill development, and fostering strong communication among her players.

Additionally, Mikaela placed great importance on team bonding and creating a supportive environment, which she believes is just as crucial as skill improvement. By emphasizing both fundamentals and team dynamics, she helped her players grow both on and off the court, leading to their overall success.

Mikaela began playing competitive volleyball in 6th grade and went on to be a standout setter for two Varsity-letter seasons at Mansfield High School. During her time there, her team achieved impressive accomplishments in the highly competitive 6A district, becoming bi-district and regional champions and earning the All-District Academic Award in 2014-2015.

Mikaela also played at an elite level for North Texas club volleyball. Following her high school and club career, she joined the volleyball program at Henderson State University, where she was a setter for the 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons. In addition to her athletic involvement, Mikaela was an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), serving as a volleyball sponsor for three years, and represented the School of Business in the Student Government Association (SGA) for two years.

After earning her undergraduate degree, Mikaela continued her education as a graduate assistant for the School of Business. She also remained involved in volleyball, helping coach the college team. Now holding her MBA, Mikaela is currently a corporate buyer at Dillard’s, where her love for fashion continues to fuel her growth in the industry.

Coach Moore joins EVA for the first year and bring the wealth of knowledge as experienced long-time coach.  She has loved volleyball for a long time and her journey of volleyball has been nothing short of amazing.  Coach Moore is a native of Greenbrier where she started playing at the age of 12. She had the opportunity to play three years for Central Baptist College as a libero.  She then went on to transfer and finish her degree at University of Central Arkansas with a BS in Health education in 2005. 

She has coached for many years and absolutely loves the game and what it brings to young athletes. Coach Moore spent 8 years at Beebe High School where she was the Varsity head coach. In 2012 she stepped away from teaching/coaching, and now work for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals where she is able to work with providers to help patients get their medications.

Last two season Coach Moore coached with Arkansas Volley where she coached 14 and 15 regional plus teams. She is very excited about the opportunity to continue to grow as a coach, and help athletes achieve their goals. She looked up to her high school coach who shaped her into the coach she became, and she is still a mentor to her years later. Coach Moore believes the relationships built between a coach and athlete go far beyond just the game.

She is married to Brock for 17 years and they have two beautiful daughters Kennedi and Bailey who also share the love of the game with her.

Camryn joins EVA after being decorated player at Samford University.  She received a full athletic scholarship to play at Samford University (Birmingham, AL) as an outside hitter (2018-2021). During her time, the team won 3 Southern Conference championships taking them to 3 NCAA tournaments.
Camryn graduated with a bachelors of biology and moved to Little Rock to attend UAMS, where she recently graduated with a Masters of Physician Assistant Studies and now work as a hospitalist PA for CHI St. Vincent. 
Her lover for volleyball started in the 7th grade where she quickly fell in love with the sport! Camryn was a middle blocker for Valley View High School where we won 3, 5A state championships during her HS career (2015-2018).  She led the 5A in hitting percentage (2016) and the state in blocks for 3 consecutive seasons. She finished career at Valley View with an overall record of 108-9. She knows club volleyball world well as she played club volleyball for Arkansas Juniors and Memphis Metro. 

Camryn is so excited to be back in a volleyball gym and she hope to encourage players to be the best person and the player that they can be! 

Coach Rachel is going into her 7th year of coaching club and 3rd year coaching at Episcopal Collegiate School to assist with the varsity and junior varsity volleyball program.  She is returning for her 5th season to EVA where she coached many different age groups from 13-16u.
Season 2023/24, Coach Rachel was the Head Coach of EVA 16 Navy. This team reached Gold bracket in five out of six tournaments placing 4th-6th overall four times. At the conclusion of the regional plus team, Rachel was assisting EVA 16 Elite under Coach Eckart as well as provided training help with EVA 12 National. 

Rachel started playing volleyball in the 6th grade at age 11.  Her 9th grade year she was the libero for the varsity team at Mills High School (5A Conference) as well as the setter for the 9th grade.  She would continue to be the setter for the school and help lead each team to win their Conference Championships (2005-2009).  

During her club volleyball career she played as a Defensive Specialist/Libero.  Upon graduating she was offered a half bowling and half volleyball scholarship to Grambling University.  After some changes in the staffing at Grambling she accepted a bowling and academic scholarship to Texas Southern University (she has been bowling since she was 7).  Upon transferring back home to Arkansas she would return to Mills and help train the current teams during the off seasons.

Considering EVA her volleyball home, Coach Rachel looks to do as much as she can in the gym helping with camps and helping other teams when needed.  Her favorite part about coaching is not only bonding with players but being able to see their development and watch the puzzle pieces click together as they learn.  She may be small in stature but her loud cheering and personality take on a bigger element in her coaching.

She is currently an Assistant Property Manager for a real estate company and has one daughter named Raiyne, who has also become a volleyball enthusiast.

We are excited to add Abigail Herman to return to EVA coaching staff for the 5th season. She spent her first 3 seasons leading our top 11s team while also helping with older teams in the post season. Abigail's first year team 20/21 competed locally in an age group up and excelled in learning the skill and the game under coach Abigail's excitable leadership. Coach Abigail's team finished the season being crowned champion of Power League Championship. Season 21/22 Abigail’s team competed regionally and won 3 out of their 6 tournaments including the Delta Regional Championship and got second in a tournament playing up in 12s.

Last season Abigail coached our 13 regional white team. They were very successful despite navigating other sports, sicknesses and injuries. They medaled at 3 of their 6 tournament. Coach Abigail’s team ended the season with 1 Gold Bracket Champion, 1 Gold Bracket runner up, and 1 Silver Bracket champion. Coach Abigail also assisted with Central High practices under EVA master Coach Markie during the summer. 

Abigail has been an avid volleyball player since the 8th grade. Coach Eckart has been a part of Abigail's development during her school and club participation days so it's a joy to see the full circle from player to Coach. Abigail played for the Little Rock Flames as a defensive specialist (DS) and an outside/ right side hitter. It was with the Flames that she became a National Champion. During the club season, she played for 501 Volley as an outside/right side hitter as well as a DS. Her senior year she was captain of her school and club team and led them to a successful season. 

When Abigail is not indoor volleyball, you can find her playing sand volleyball. She is known for her fierce competitiveness alongside building up and encouraging those around her. Abigail is a leader on and off the court. Since the beginning of her volleyball career, she has enjoyed the teamwork, competitiveness and challenges of the game. 

 Abigail uses her energy and enthusiasm to encourage her athletes to do their best to learn the game, create a positive team culture, be good teammates and above all, love and enjoy volleyball. Abigail is excited to return to EVA and continue to pass on her love of the game.

Coach Jess has been coaching volleyball for several years through school and club and is extremely excited to join EVA for the upcoming season. She is currently coaching at Central High School as Varsity Assistant under EVA master coach Markie Alberius.  Jess is serving as Head Varsity coach at the moment at LR Central while Coach Markie is on the maternity leave with her first child. Jess continues to lead LR Central Tigers varsity through the season with some big wins including the LRCA Spikfest.

Prior to coaching and teaching at LR Central, Jess was a head coach of a varsity program and spent two years as an assistant at Little Rock Southwest. During her time at Southwest, she was the 9th grade coach, as well as the standing JV coach. She also assisted with the varsity team during practices and matches. In addition to school coaching, she has two years of experience coaching club volleyball at Arkansas Select with national level teams. Jess coached two teams both years she was at ASV and had the opportunity to work with athletes of all backgrounds, skill levels, and experience. She also coached alongside some great coaches and enjoys working with others to help players succeed. Jess also has several years of coaching experience with other sports. She is extremely passionate about volleyball, building a winning culture, and most importantly, helping student athletes grow and develop in their sport and in life.

Coach PJ has had over 20 years experience of coaching at various levels. Most of this experience has included martial arts, strength training, speed and agility training, and developing athletes overall. This background in coaching has helped him transition into coaching volleyball. In the last two years he's worked as assistant under current LR Central Varsity Assistant coach Jess Cantrell.  Alongside coach Jess, coach PJ has also had some experience training volleyball players at the high school level at LR Southwest.
His passion is helping athletes achieve their goals and developing their skill set in their sports. He is excited for his second season of coaching club volleyball and his first season at EVA, as well as the opportunity to help athletes grow in the sport they love

Charlotte is a Little Rock, Arkansas native. Charlotte first began playing indoor volleyball in the seventh grade at Baptist Prep. Charlotte continued to play indoor volleyball with Baptist Prep and Little Rock Juniors until she graduated high school in the spring of 2018. During her senior season, she helped lead her school team to the 4A state finals. Although Charlotte’s team fell short during the final game and received runner up, it was the first time Baptist Prep had made an appearance in the state finals. Charlotte received all state honors following her appearance at the state tournament  

After graduating high school, Charlotte continued her education and volleyball career at Hendrix College. Charlotte played on the indoor volleyball team her freshman and sophomore year while also playing on Hendrix’s inaugural beach volleyball team. After completing her sophomore year, Charlotte decided to no longer play on the indoor volleyball team in order to focus more on beach volleyball. During Charlotte’s senior season of beach volleyball, her team made it to the AVCA D3 National Championships. Hendrix lost the championship match but received runner up at the first D3 beach volleyball national tournament. 

Charlotte bring a wealth of volleyball knowledge with her indoor and beach playing and coaching experience. She has been one of the beach coaches for EVA Beach since summer 2020.  She is very excited to start coaching indoor this club season and as a young coach has a great understanding of the expectation and how demand the best from athletes in an extremely positive way. This is why Charlotte is a great fit for EVA as she loves EVA’s unique and purposeful coaching philosophy and positive environment. 

Mary Herman is excited to be entering her third season with EVA.  Mary is also in her second season as the head 7th-grade coach at Episcopal Collegiate School, working under EVA Master Coach and Assistant Club Director, Coach Paige Gantar.

Mary received several offers to play collegiate volleyball but chose to focus on academics, graduating from U of A Community College in Morrilton with an Associates degree in General Education.

Mary has played volleyball as a setter since she was 11 years old, receiving several awards with her school team, the Little Rock Flames in addition helping to lead them to several successful seasons.  She also played club volleyball for four years.

Mary currently works as a nanny in addition to coaching private lessons, school, and club volleyball.  Mary can be found playing volleyball, pickleball, or picking up new sports any chance she gets.

Mary loves being a coach and seeing the impact coaches can have on young athletes, as well as the personal growth that comes from coaching.  Mary loves encouraging and cheering on athletes while still holding them accountable and to a high standard.  She is excitable, dedicated, and always looking for new opportunities to grow. 

Coach Bri is going into her third year coaching at EVA. Currently, she is coaching at Episcopal Collegiate School in her second season as one of the 7th grade coaches and enjoys continuing to build on under Paige Gantar, head Varsity coach at ECS and Rachel Fisher as Varsity Assistant. 

Coach Bri is a two time All American at Hot Springs High School. She led the team to State for the first time ever in 2013. She started playing volleyball at 16 and quickly fell in love with the game and made a huge impact on her high school team. She played an outside hitter and continued to love and enjoy the game past the high school as she was involved in adult play.

Bri attended Henderson State University where she majored in athletic training and then sports management with a minor in business. During that time at HSU, she worked closely with the volleyball team. 

Currently, Bri works at PerfectVision Manufacturing Inc. as Operations Admin. Bri loves the game and is looking forward to going into her 2nd year in coaching as it has always been her passion to coach kids and watch them grow to their full potential. 

She has a 6yr old daughter whom she hopes to grow up with a deep love for the game as she has. 

Valerie is returning to EVA for her fourth year of coaching. As a great skill teaching coach, she spent last three seasons working with our young athletes in 11u teams teaching them EVA principles of training and culture. Coach Val has been an integral part of skill development with small group work outside of teams. 

Valerie has been around volleyball for as long as she can remember. After attending every volleyball practice and game of her older sister, she was finally able to compete in the 5th grade. From ages 13-17, Valerie played for Code Blue and Little Rock Juniors, where she learned and refined her volleyball skills. In high school, Valerie played for Mount St. Mary Academy for four years, and was a varsity starter for three. During this time, she received All-Conference and All-State honors, as well as being nominated as the team captain.  In high school, Valerie trained under coach Eckart so now they are back to full circle of player-coach to coach-coach relationship. 

In college, Valerie ultimately decided to focus on her studies, earning a BA in both Political Science and Writing & Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She played club volleyball at her school for all four years.
Currently, Valerie is in her last year of school at Bowen School of Law here in Little Rock. 

For several years, Valerie played volleyball, basketball, golf, and track and field. During her time as an athlete, she was considered to be a fierce competitor whose positivity and drive were contagious to those around her. Valerie is incredibly excited to begin her third year of club volleyball coaching, and knows that she will pour that same energy into the girls she coaches and mentors. She is excited to share her knowledge and love of volleyball, and knows what it takes to cultivate a hardworking and positive team culture.

Haley is returning for the second year coaching with EVA.  Last season Haley coached 12 local plus team and had the best time coaching our young players. 
Along with EVA team, Haley has coaches EVA skill trainings and camps over the last two years.  She is currently coaching Bauxite 7th grade and assisting with Junior High and Varsity under Coach Carter. She spend the summer coaching Nike Volleyball Camp under Coach Paige Gantar as well as different EVA camp.  
Haley played for 7 years at Bauxite as a 3 year varsity starter, earning 1x All-State and 3x All-Conference. She also played club volleyball and is very familiar with the club volleyball scene. During her involvement with EVA she developed a huge passion for coaching and continues to impact players at her Alma Mater. 

Karson is entering her second season as an assistant coach at EVA, but fifth season of club coaching overall. Karson started her volleyball career in the fifth grade playing for Little St. Mary’s Stinger Bees. She then moved to Oklahoma and played for Broken Arrow Varsity volleyball 2007-2010 as a setter/opposite hitter. During club seasons she played for Team Tulsa. After High School, Karson went to play at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) as a setter/opposite hitter.  Karson is a huge promoter/cheerleader for Junior Colleges. After NEO she decided to focus on school and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a kinesiology degree. She later graduated from University of Arkansas Fort Smith in December 2017 with her bachelors of science in nursing and has been a nurse at UAMS ever since. She is currently working as a liver transplant coordinator at UAMS.

Meet Coach Christie, now in her second year with EVA coaching staff. Growing up with six older sisters who played volleyball, it was natural for her to develop a love for the sport. By age 10, she was already playing JO volleyball and setting the stage for her future in the game. 

During her high school years at Little Rock Christian, Christie was a key player on the varsity team for three years and served as captain each season. Her hard work paid off, earning her two all-conference and two all-state honors. 

After high school, Christie headed to the University of Arkansas to earn a bachelor's degree in history. But she never put volleyball on the back burner, staying active in intramural leagues throughout college. 

Now at EVA, Christie brings a solid combination of volleyball know-how and leadership experience. Her focus is on player development, informed by both her on-court history and her academic background. It's clear that her commitment to the sport has been a lifelong journey, one she's eager to continue here at EVA.
Christie has been a lead coach for our game teaching program Let's Volley where the focus in on teaching the basics of the game in simple 6-6 system to beginner level players grades 4-6th. Some of the main things we like the players to leave with is general understanding of the game of volleyball, how to rotate, base positions, passing target and setter's position as well as ball development into three contacts where we play with purpose and just reactively over the net. 

Emerson Leach is joining EVA coaching staff for the first time but has been around volleyball for as long as she can remember. Starting in 5 th grade, Emerson played volleyball for Pulaski Academy, serving as team captain for varsity her senior year. She also played each club season from 5 th grade-12 th grade for Fatchmo.  She earned All-Conference in 5A all four years in high school. She played under Autumn Erickson all years of high school at PA and also while at Fatchmo.
In college, Emerson attended University of Arkansas and focused on my studies, earning a BA in both Political Science and Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations (also minored in Criminal Justice). Currently she is in her second year of law school at William H. Bowen School of Law.
For several years, she was a dual sport athlete as she played volleyball and soccer. She has just as many achievements from soccer as she was All- State soccer player for 2 years and All-Conference the other two, also being team captain of PA varsity soccer team her senior year. Emerson also played club soccer for as long as she can remember.
She will bring a joy for the game while teaching her athletes to be fierce competitors while having team first attitude. She has been a leader on her volleyball and soccer teams, so she understands the need for the cohesive team with the same mindset where teamwork plays a central role in the success of a team. Emerson was also a role model and a helper to her younger sister where she was able to watch and participate in her volleyball journey and help shape her volleyball experiences. 
Emerson is a huge volleyball enthusiast who has been around the world of volleyball non-stop and is every excited to keep it going by coaching young athletes at EVA.

This will be Morgan's first year at EVA. Prior to joining this program, she coached beach volleyball and indoor volleyball in Fresno, California for two years ranging from ages 9-17 years old. Morgan is also currently directing her own sports camp and creating a new volleyball program for ages 3-11 for EP Sports Academy. She loves coaching and playing volleyball while seeing other athletes fall in love with the sport as well. 

Morgan was born in Fresno, California and was a middle blocker for her high school team that placed in the top four in state of California.  She then committed to Hendrix College to continue playing volleyball where she  played for four years. In 2022, her team was National Runner Up for Division III beach volleyball. The following year in 2023, they won the National Championship. Additionally, Morgan obtained bachelor’s degree in psychology at Hendrix College. Her educational background helps her use cognitive tools when coaching individual and group athletes.

She intends on utilizing her athletic background by going to graduate school and earning a masters and Ph.D in sports psychology.  Morgan believes coaching in sports that use team-related work, such as volleyball, will help ger pursue sports psychology and grow her love for the sport. 

Brittany is excited to finally begin her coaching journey with EVA this season. After being introduced to the game at age 10, she fell in love with it and by 15 had left all her other athletic commitments behind and devoted all her time to developing her game. Brittany graduated from Rutherford B Hayes High School in 2007 where she was a 3 year Varsity starter and team Captain. While OH was her main position, she learned to play multiple other positions to help lead her team to success.
In her preparation to serve as helper coach, Brittany spent the spring - fall of 2024 attending EVA Elite practices, EVA Skill Academy, Summer camps and assisted lead coaches in those programs. 

Brittany had plans to attend The Ohio State University at Marion to play volleyball, but due to an unfortunate injury her senior year her plans changed. Brittany attended college at Ohio Dominican University with a major in Sports Management, but decided to take a break from her education to join the military. Shortly after graduating her training, Brittany learned that she would become a mother, and now has 3 wonderful children!

Brittany was married in November of 2023 and loves spending time with her husband and kids in any free time that they have. She is also preparing to begin college classes to complete her Bachelor’s Degree and become a teacher.

Brittany loves sharing her love of the game with a new generation and helping foster that same love in all of our kids. Nothing makes her happier than celebrating a win, whether that be against an opponent, or a win within ourselves when we accomplish a goal that we have been working hard to achieve.

Dave is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Bauxite Lady Miners, coaching grades 7-12.  When he joined the program before the start of the 2018 season, Bauxite had only five wins and no post-season award recipients.  In the past six seasons, he’s led Bauxite to 68 wins, four consecutive state tournament bids, and his players have received nine All-State selections, 29 All-Conference selections, and two players have gone on to play in college. 

This is Dave's third year coaching with EVA. This season he will continue to serve as a helper coach following a season as the Head Coach of EVA 16 White. Prior to EVA, Dave has coached seven seasons of club volleyball.  He believes that teaching and coaching is a calling, and feels that his purpose is to help students and athletes achieve their dreams.  In addition to coaching, he’s also a certified science and math teacher who embraces everything nerdy.  He currently teaches middle school science at Bauxite, where he was named Teacher of the Year in just his third year of teaching. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate in Education from Harding University and graduated with his Masters in Teaching with Distinction from Southern Arkansas University. 

Before becoming an educator and coach in 2018, Dave spent 20 years in the business sector in retail, construction, and commercial real estate in Central Arkansas.  He was also a youth ministry leader at the Little Rock Church of God for 11 years including six years as the lead youth pastor helping young people.

A veteran of marriage for almost three decades, he does life daily with his lovely wife, Amy.  Their oldest daughter Emma is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in aerospace engineering, and is now a structural engineer for a ship building contractor for the U.S. Navy.  Their youngest daughter Claire, is a sophomore Architecture student at Mississippi State University. Claire is an alumnus of Benton High School where she serves as lead volleyball manager for three years. 

Dave loves all things sports, exploring in nature, reading for pleasure, immersing in creativity, and he’s always up for new experiences.

Coral is returning to EVA for the fifth season and brings a lot of coaching experience.

Coral is currently on volleyball coaching staff at historic Little Rock Central Hight School where her primary assignment is 9th grade Head Coach while assisting with JV and Varsity.  She has coached volleyball at Little Rock Central for 9 years and helped to introduce the use of a 9th grade volleyball team 8 years ago. She has also been volunteering for many years, coaching 5th through 12th graders in her hometown’s basketball league, where she developed her love of sports. Coral grew up playing many sports: basketball, volleyball, and track and field. She was a member of her high school’s basketball team, helping them reach the first round of the state tournament for the first time in many years. She is a mathematics teacher at Central HS. 

After high school she attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as a Donaghey Scholar to receive her Bachelors in Math in 2016.  In 2019 she received her masters from Arkansas State University in Educational Theory and in 2023, Coral received a Masters in Math at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This year will be Jacklyn's second season coaching with EVA. Jacklyn has coached a total of 8 seasons of club volleyball, ranging from players at the age of 11 to 18. Jacklyn is a true lover of the sport and enjoys the way it allows athletes to learn how to work hard, have discipline, and appreciate the value of a team.

Jacklyn is a Conway, Arkansas native. She was born and raised in Conway and started playing volleyball competitively in the 7th grade. She was a libero/ DS for Conway High School and played for the Fatchmo Volleyball Club where she got to travel to multiple tournaments ranging from Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Mississippi. Following graduating high school, Jacklyn went straight to coaching club volleyball, allowing her to appreciate the other side of the game as a coach. Jacklyn still continues to play volleyball during her free time, whether it be in the sand or on the court. She enjoys watching all of her little sister's games and loves how the sport elevates in competitiveness each season.  

Jacklyn attended the University of Central Arkansas where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a minor in Addiction Studies. She then completed her Doctorate Degree in Occupational Therapy. Jacklyn now works at the Conway Regional Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Center, where she enjoys utilizing her background in athletics to allow athletes to understand the importance of taking care of their bodies for longevity in their sports. Jacklyn also owns a gym with her husband where they enjoy helping clients reach and maintain healthier lifestyles. 

Deseray is originally from Kansas City Missouri where she played varsity volleyball for Grandview Highschool from 2012-2016. She also played club volleyball with Northland Static Volleyball. During her college years, she studied at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and obtained Bachelor of Arts in Business Management with an emphasis in Marketing. She continued her education and further obtained Masters of Education in Secondary Physical Education/Sports Programming.  Deseray has previous experience of working behind the scenes as a graduate media assistant with UAPB Athletics during my graduate studies. 

She is currently a communications Director of the School of Agriculture, Aquaculture-Fisheries, and Human sciences at UAPB. She previously coached with Conway Juniors Volleyball team as an assistant coach for CJV 16 National under Abbie Harry.

We are excited to welcome Tabatha to EVA coaching staff. She started coaching club volleyball in 2016 where she was the head coach of a local team in Central Arkansas. Tabatha started playing club volleyball in fourth grade. She played and started all four years on varsity at Richland High School (TX). She also played beach and indoor club volleyball in the DFW metroplex. Tabatha played college volleyball at Ouachita Baptist University from 2016-2020. During her time at OBU, she was awarded GAC all-tournament team player 2016 and GAC conference champs 2016. She graduated in May of 2020 with a BS in Nutrition & Dietetics and later completed her master’s degree in nutrition from Texas Woman’s University. Tabatha is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and enjoys sports nutrition and aiding athletes in reaching their performance goals.

Mike joined EVA as a helper coach last season and started coming to EVA Elite team practices in the post season where he served as a helper in practices by either entering volleyballs for different skill work and wash drills, or helped by playing as a practice player to provide more difficult situation for the players as the big blocker. Mike has been passionate about volleyball for the past seven years. He participates locally by playing indoor, beach, and grass volleyball. Coaching has always been his dream so we are very excited to continue to help him develop as a coach. In the upcoming season he will continue to be a helper coach to several elite teams to be exposed to all of our master coaches.
Mike attended the University of Central Florida. He works in both mental health therapy guidance and article writing. Mike loves volleyball and is looking forward to helping young EVA plyers take their game to the next level. 

Camille Smith is returning int he role of helper coach due to high demands of her career. Last season she was Head Coach of EVA 13 Grey and brough a lot of great energy and teaching to a young team wanting to be a great role model for young players. Camille started playing volleyball at a young age and immediately fell in love. She was a middle blocker at Mount St. Mary and on her club teams at Little Rock Juniors. In 2018, she received All-Conference, All-State, and All-Tournament Team as a junior. However, the beginning of her senior year
started out in a way that she could have never expected. She had a complete medial meniscus tear. This took her out of over half her senior season at MSM. There were some complications, so she had to receive another surgery in December 2018. She was not able to play her final season at LRJ and was absolutely heartbroken to be out of the game. During these times, she learned valuable lessons about being a great team player even on the bench. She still served as captain and led MSM to the State Tournament. She credits these moments on the bench with a knee brace, as the times where she found her voice and how to support the team no matter the circumstance.
Now, Camille is a senior in college at UAMS. She graduates in May from nursing school. After school, she plans on becoming a pediatric psychiatric nurse. She currently works at UAMS on
Labor and Delivery.
She hopes to become the coach that she wished she had during her developmental years. She is determined to spread her love for the game to a whole new generation of players. 

Daylee Aitken joins the EVA coaching staff after participating for four seasons as a player. Daylee played under Coach Eckart and Cat Griffith, where she learned the coaching expectations and team culture for EVA firsthand. Daylee was a passionate libero for Lake Hamilton High School, earning huge honors and achievements. She was also awarded three All-Conference and two All-State honors and ended her high school season by signing with Arkansas Tech University to continue her academic and athletic career. Daylee attended Arkansas Tech University for 1 year and is currently at The University of Arkansas at Little Rock pursuing a Social Work degree. She has spent the fall preparing for coaching by participating in fall coaching, training, and attending EVA Coaches Clinics. Daylee loves her animals, reading, and spending time outdoors. She looks forward to her first year coaching and getting the opportunity to help kids learn and fall in love with the game she loves!! 

Coming back from a season off after giving birth to twin baby girls, coach Leigh Ann will be part of helper coaching staff at EVA.

Coach Leigh Ann was a perfect addition to our coaching staff because along with her volleyball knowledge her background as therapist/coach in occupational therapy she was an excellent in balancing high expectation along with encouragement to her 14 Regional Plus team. Coach Leigh Ann got engaged and is planning a wedding for May 2021 so the extent of her involvement changed from being a head coach to a team to being a Master coach who will help with onboarding new coaches for 2020/21 season. We are grateful for her continuous involvement while balancing her private life and fun year of planning her wedding day. 

Leigh Ann was born and raised in central Arkansas where she played varsity volleyball for North Little Rock High School as well as club volleyball.  She went on to sign a volleyball scholarship for the University of Central Arkansas but after a change in coaching staff and an awarded academic scholarship, Leigh Ann decided to focus on academics in pursuit of her passion for helping others through a graduate degree in occupational therapy.  Her extensive knowledge in biomechanics and motor development as well as her experience and knowledge of volleyball fundamentals lend to a unique perspective and approach to coaching.  Over the years, Leigh Ann has nurtured her passion for the game through adult volleyball programs including grass, sand, and indoor environments as well as two years of club coaching experience for LRJ ages 14 and 15s.  Leigh Ann is a pediatric occupational therapist at Hippos and Fish Specialized Pediatric Therapy Services and has a passion for helping children, teenagers and young adults reach their fullest potential in all areas of life.  Through her years of competitive volleyball, Coach Tanja Eckart was her most influential coach due to her positive and encouraging approach to coaching while setting high standards for work ethic as well as a genuine investment in the development of each individual player.  Leigh Ann is a firm believer in the “we vs. me” culture and finds great value in team sports and the positive impact it has on character development into adulthood.
Leigh Ann is married to Jake Arey and the couple is expecting twin girls in February '22.

EVA is dedicated to coach preparation and mentoring so within our organization we offer several coaching positions: Head coaches, Assistant Coaches, Floater Coaches/Helper coaches.

Head and assistant coaches are assigned to a specific team while Floater/Helper coaches attend several teams' practices in order to learn from and be exposed to different coaches in our organization.  This benefits the coach in training as well as the team that they are helping as having more coaches in practice is always better for running smoother practices and providing valuable feedback.  

If you are interested in becoming a part of EVA coaching staff please read "How we coach at EVA" to know the expectation and contact club director, Tanja Eckart at 501-940-0608 or eckartvolleyball@gmail.com  

Congrats to EVA Coach Dani Moura on being selected to 2023 AVCA 13s Club Coach of the Year

Interested in becoming a sponsor of Elite Volleyball Academy?