Ashley Hall’s Slay Set For Another Volleyball Season
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Charleston – As sure as the sun rises every day, Franny Slay is back for another season as the volleyball coach at Ashley Hall.
Slay is set to begin her 42nd year as the volleyball coach at Ashley Hall in 2026, a tenure that includes 342 years as the athletic director. Slay’s importance to the volleyball program as well as the athletic program cannot be understated.
In volleyball, the coach has amassed a career record of 863-392 heading into the 2026 season. That record includes 12 SCISA state championships and 10 state runner-up trophies. She also led the school to four championships (1988. 1989, 1991, 1993) in the Palmetto Athletic Conference prior to the school joining SCISA.
The last few years have been a little lean in terms of victories but the Panthers remain a very competitive program than cannot be overlooked. This season is off to a 2-7 start as the team battles some key injuries. But Slay feels her squad continues to improve.
“We have had a slow start to the season with two key starters being sidelined with injuries. We started the season making it to the gold round in the North-South invitational in Rock Hill. We look forward to improvement as we continue to find the best lineup.”
This year’s team is led by three veteran returners, Liza Hood, Minka Tang and Amelia Finnegan. Tang is one of the injured players early on, along with Isabella Smith, who also is a starter when healthy.
Hood and Finnegan remain key starters. Others who are in the rotation include Ava Payton, Samantha Miller, Maddrey Moore and Clara Tylus. Payton, Moore and Tylus are promising underclassmen.
Several other players are making an impact as well. They include Anna Thorne, Chandler Thornton and Caroline Copenhaver. Rounding out the squad are Rhetta Rutledge, Leland Elliott, Carolyn Whelan, and Aubrey Lee.
Through the first nine contests, Payton leads the team with 37 kills. Hood has 24 kills and 33 digs while Miller hs 21 kills. Moore leads in assists with 92 while Tylus has 46 assists. Finnegan has 59 digs and Tang has 37 digs.
