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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Shelby County once again lived up to its reputation of producing some of the top volleyball players in the entire state, making it a strong field of players to consider for Shelby County Player of the Year.

Despite many deserving winners though, the answer often came back to the person who left an indelible mark on the Chelsea Hornets volleyball program: Lauren Buchanan.

Buchanan entered the 2024 season riding a wave of headline-grabbing feats, including an MVP-performance at last summer’s North-South All-Star Game in Montgomery while representing Chelsea as well as an AAU national championship at the club level.

She had already made a name for herself over the past few seasons against the best talent that Class 7A had to offer, securing First Team spots on the All-State, All-County and All-Area teams with 526 kills, 218 digs and 35 blocks.

However, for all of her individual success, the Hornets were unable to break through and reach regionals, falling in the area semifinals in both 2022 and 2023. That motivated Buchanan and her fellow seniors come together and break the glass ceiling as they moved down to Class 6A.

In the process, Buchanan practically rewrote every record in Chelsea volleyball history during a historic 2024 campaign.

She finished the year with 764 kills, the second-most in all of Shelby County and the most in a single season by any Hornets player.

Buchanan also finished in the top 10 in the county for digs despite playing in the front row, securing 346 digs over the course of the season and pairing that with 35 blocks to showcase her potent defensive skills in addition to her offensive prowess.

She was also sixth in the county in aces with 95, pairing with teammates like Cara Belcher to form a lethal service game that helped Chelsea go on lengthy runs and put pressure on opponents.

Those numbers helped her tighten her grip on multiple program records for her career. Buchanan finished her time as a Hornet with 1,942 kills, 806 more than the second-highest total, and 336 aces, 97 more than the prior record.

As a result, she was a matchup nightmare on the outside, demanding respect from opposing defenses as her high-speed swings frequently proved hard to handle and swung matches in Chelsea’s favor on the road to winning the area title, region title and reaching the 6A semifinals.

In addition, she won just about every individual award imaginable, earning places on the All-State, All-Area and All-County teams while also becoming just the second Hornet to earn All-American honors from the AVCA.

Her accomplishments didn’t mean that this was a runaway Player of the Year race.

Pelham outside hitter Camryn McMinn surpassed Buchanan in kills, digs and blocks even while playing alongside another one of the top outsides in Shelby County in Londyn Wynn.

McMinn and Buchanan’s setters also made strong cases for Shelby County Player of the Year as Pelham’s Kylee Hester led the county with 1,438 assists while Chelsea’s Cara Belcher was not far off from her while dominating around the court to secure an All-State First Team spot.

However, Buchanan proved throughout the season that she is the most valuable player in the county. The Hornets certainly would not have gotten where they were as a team without Buchanan, who took over in big moments, including four kills in five points late in the decisive fourth set against Spanish Fort at regionals, a strong night in a reverse sweep of Pelham for the area title and momentum-changing points at regionals and state.

While Buchanan will shortly go off to Lubbock, Texas to play Power Four volleyball for Texas Tech, her instrumental role in helping the Hornets get one match away from playing for a state title will no doubt be remembered for years to come, and it’s why she is the Shelby County Player of the Year.