With seven state titles in girls volleyball, tied for the sixth most all-time in Oregon, Sisters is one of the top programs in the whole state.
Now, the Outlaws are turning toward a head coach who is just beginning his history roaming the gym sidelines in Jason Monaghan.
The first-year leader has never coached volleyball in an official capacity, but has seen his two daughters Mia and Jordyn grow up through the Sisters volleyball program, which inspired him to learn the sport and take on the challenge of continuing the Outlaws rich history.
“For volleyball, basically what it was is I’m a person that if I’m into something, I have to know everything about it,” Monaghan said. “I learned the ins and outs and everything about it and then it really became fun for me. Fortunately for me, my kids were pretty high-level players so we got to travel all around the country with their club and watch fantastic volleyball.”
Monaghan isn’t new to coaching in general though as the former college baseball player taught the sport from T-ball all the way up through high school and even into some consultation work with Portland-area colleges like Mt. Hood Community College.
The new volleyball coach has lived in Sisters the past 12 years and dove into the supportive volleyball community with his daughters, discovering a fascination for the strategy and pace of the game.
“The strategy is what kind of drew me to it,” Monaghan said. “You watch the game and you’re like, ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’ And then you learn, ‘Well this is why you can’t do this.’ I think it was more of an interest in just learning it.”
Monaghan will be the fourth coach in four years at Sisters, replacing Mahryahna Callegari who led the Outlaws to a 20-6 overall record, including a 10-0 mark in the Mountain Valley Conference. Sisters made the 3A quarterfinals before dropping two matches.
Monaghan is quick to praise the staff he has coming in though, which includes his daughter Jordyn who will be coaching up the defensive side of the ball.
Former Sisters standout player Hannah Harrer is coming back to town to help with attacking and blocking, and Monaghan is also trying to bring back Josh Kreunen, who was the Sisters head coach in 2024 and has coached high school and college volleyball since 1999.
“I guess there was a little interest around me here in Central Oregon about, ‘Who is this dude coming in here and why would they hire him?’” Monaghan said. “I look at myself as the CEO of the business and I’m putting great people around me.”
Monaghan will certainly have great players on the floor playing for him, starting with senior setter Paityn Cotner who returns and will be the primary setter once again.
Allison Forgarty is another senior who plays at libero and will provide the needed leadership alongside Cotner.
Sophomore Maici Cotner “brings the thunder” as an outside hitter for a team that Monaghan said is hitter heavy at the moment. Senior Shanitah Few is a high-flyer at the middle blocker position and she’s joined by a defensive-minded MB in senior Brooke Lindsay at the net.
Junior Josta Fuentes is being looked at either as a hitter or MB and then sophomores Kate Mock and Maren Labhart are two more hitters that has Monaghan contemplating a move to a 6-2 system.
“We’re not a huge team, it’s not the old teams of Sisters where you had two lines of 6-footers going in,” Monaghan said. “So we’re gonna put the speed to them. We’re dropping our sets down, we’re speeding things up. Our middles are really working.”
Sisters has a jamboree at Summit on Aug. 27 before its first match of the season on the road at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 against Amity.
The Outlaws' last state title came in 2023 and are currently tied with Prairie City for the sixth most with seven.
Monaghan doesn’t want to beat around the bush: the goal is state title No. 8 and he believes the crew in the building has the ability to do it.
“I always have high expectations and my expectations don’t change,” Monaghan said. “Small goals first, let’s stay healthy, let’s keep our grades up. After that, it’s for us to go through our conference and it’s to make another trip back to state.
“I feel if we get there, I think we can compete with anybody at our level for a state championship and that’s going to be the goal.”
Anna Dillard back in her Mt. Hood roots
Gresham girls volleyball is tied for the second most state titles in Oregon history with nine, and Anna Dillard was a Gopher for four of them when they won from 1988-1991.
Now in 2026, Dillard is taking over another storied Mt. Hood Conference program in Central Catholic, winners of six state titles, which is the eighth most in Oregon.
Getting the chance to not only coach the Rams but return to the MHC made the chance a desired landing spot for Dillard.
“I’m excited to be back in the Mt. Hood Conference,” Dillard said. “The Mt. Hood Conference is home. … Central Catholic, to me, is a landing spot in terms of being a really desired coaching position. I had decided that life was in a place where I could be a head coach again. I put my family first, and that meant coaching wasn’t always the right thing.”
After graduating high school, Dillard came back and jumped into coaching club volleyball. She eventually took on a high school job, taking over Centennial in 1999.
Dillard took a break after a couple years before returning to coach at Westview in the early to mid 2000s. Most recently, she was the head coach at La Salle Prep.
After circling around Portland, Dillard is jumping into the heart of it as the Rams new leader. She replaces Kealia Nahale-a who went 58-21 overall in three seasons with the Rams with a 36-6 record in the MHC.
“I feel really honored because of the history (at Central Catholic),” Dillard said. “I chose to apply because of what I know about Central Catholic, not just as a competitor … but what I know about them internally as a parent of Central Catholic students, my husband (Barry) has been a Central Catholic football coach for a long time, so it feels like home to us now.”
Dillard will have a “core four” of returning players to work with in her first year made up of seniors Millie Massey Lathan, Noa Kaopuiki Delaney, Khaki Davison and Bennett Waage.
Lathan is an MB who Dillard expects to see plenty of growth from leadership wise and is an athletic middle who can help the Rams play at Dillard’s desired pace.
Delaney is a setter who will have experience running the offense and has a trusted hitter in Davison. Waage is a defensive specialist and will be the calming presence needed in the back to dig out kills.
“We do have a strong group of seniors, I call them a core four that are returning,” Dillard said. “Each of them provides just really good leadership. The cool part about that is they each play different positions. We have a senior setter, a senior outside hitter, a senior middle, a senior DS. It feels like we have leadership in those important positions.”
Sophomore Olivia Springer is a non-senior name to look out for, especially after the spring she had as a freshman on the Rams softball team where she hit .429 with two home runs, 35 RBI and stole 19 bases.
Overall though, the Rams are looking to rejoin the elite of 6A as they’ve fallen in the second round of the playoffs the past four seasons.
That journey begins with the Rams hosting their own tournament on Saturday, Aug. 29, followed by a rival matchup at defending champion Jesuit on Sept. 1.
To get back to state, Dillard believes the culture she’s trying to build will be the difference.
“Playing at our standard that we set for ourselves and having a connected culture and belief in what we’re capable of, then doing the work every day. That leads to those results,” Dillard said. “Those results don’t come from banners hanging in the gym from 10 years ago. This is the legacy we stand on, but who are we today? Who are we going to decide to be today and in the future of Central Catholic, and what is that championship culture we’re building?”
More new coaches (previous coach in parenthesis)
Benson: Rebecca Ball
Central Catholic: Anna Dillard (Kealia Nahale-a)
Lake Oswego: Nicole Gebauer (Alex Hasenstab)
West Salem: Mattie Kelly (Scott Coons)
South Medford: Nicole Kahawai (Robin Akpan)
Parkrose: Joseph Porche (Jamie Schuknecht)
Putnam: Kiana Robertson (Nicole Mays)
Liberty: Precious Helekahi and Melanie Miller-Saunders (Andrew Levoe)
Crook County: Rhea Cardwell (Makayla Lindburg)
Mountain View: Mailee Utu
Ridgeview: Margie Beeler (Nick Viggiano)
Ashland: Jeff Kubiak (Tia Peterson)
Crater: Joni McCleary (Tiffany Booth)
Seaside: Nicole Aydt (Laurie Hudson)
Tillamook: Brianne Kephart (Trina Goss)
Stayton: Kiley Power
Phoenix: Lindsey Sampson (Ashley McGuire)
De La Salle North Catholic: Asia Green-Rhodes (Valerie Bruk)
Horizon Christian, Tualatin: Jaycie Forrester (Caleb George)
Riverdale: Juno Cruz (Ana Alves)
Westside Christian: Piper Hilgaertner (Kristina Thom)
Gervais: Fenya Aman
Salem Academy: Tracey Davis (Kara Copeland)
Scio: Kate O’Connor
Willamina: Devon Bruckner
Sisters: Jason Monaghan (Mahryahna Callegari)
Sweet Home: Amy Tyler and Janine Bondesen (Katie Dargis)
Illinois Valley: David Gerten
Gaston: Ashley Roth (Ginger Jolly)
Riverside WLWV: Keawe Molifua (Bree Weber)
Colton: Casi Johnson (Brittney Ferlan)
Delphian: April Ott (Denise Dickey)
Regis: Miriam Castillo
Sheridan: Denise Dickey (Christopher Harmon)
Central Linn: Baylee Kuschel
East Linn Christian: Rory Rush added as co-head coach
Union: Tiffany Freitag (Madison Elliott)
Rogue River: Jill Westlake (Joe Kolkow)
Valor Christian: Haley Blazer (Steve Lorenz)
CS Lewis Academy: Paige Ryckewaert (Kaitlyn Boettner)
Riddle: Mary Anderson (Shantelle Weakley)
Umpqua Valley Christian: Abby Parker
Yoncalla: Leighsa Swearingen (Shelby Geyer)
North Lake: Kayleigh Fivecoat (Mellisa Roth)
South Wasco County: Krista Howell (Shelley Iverson)
Pilot Rock/Ukiah: Shelby Journot
Pine Eagle: Rebecca Thorn (Candice Grende)
austinw@osaa.org
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