For four years, Ava Rakers enjoyed a successful career with the Montgomery County volleyball team, earning all-conference, all-district and academic all-state honors.

Now, the Montgomery County senior will look to carry that success to the next level at a school which is just an hour away.

Rakers signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Hannibal-LaGrange University for the 2025 season on March 4 at the MCHS gymnasium. She will join a program that competes in the NAIA (National Athletics Intercollegiate Association).

“It’s definitely exciting,” Rakers said. “It’s exciting to be able to start a new chapter and get to continue my athletic journey of volleyball and get to continue to do something that I love.”

Rakers signed her letter in front of a large number of family members, friends and coaches. One of the coaches was Roxanne Sellenriek.

When she started playing volleyball in elementary school, Rakers played on one of Sellenriek’s youth volleyball teams. She also played under Sellenriek in her freshman and sophomore seasons at MCHS.

“Roxanne has pushed me to be the best I can be possible and I only have her to thank,” Rakers said.

Rakers said she found out about Hannibal-LaGrange while she attended a career fair that was held at the MCHS gym last year.

“Mom and I went and checked it out,” Rakers said. “Then, I went and watched one of the former players, Morgan Koch, who was a senior here last year. I watched her play for Cottey College and realized that I wanted to continue my career as well and right along with her. So I checked out Hannibal and they have an awesome school with an awesome education in athletics. I tried out and I decided that it was something I was really interested in.”

Rakers will join a Hannibal-LaGrange program that won just seven matches last year. The Trojans’ last winning season was in 2021, when they finished 15-11.

“It’s a whole new game,” Rakers said. “Obviously, I’m going to put my education first. As I am pursuing early childhood and elementary education, I will be able to get that degree done in two short years. So obviously, that comes first and I’m excited with what they told me about what they have for their program. Obviously, I hope to be a great attribute as a libero or defensive specialist for the volleyball team, just anything to help bring to the table.”

Kelsey Pollard was recently hired as the Trojans’ head coach for the 2025 season. She coached at Hannibal High School for several years.

“I’m super excited,” Rakers said. “She made an awesome career for herself at Hannibal High School. I heard nothing but great news about her, so I’m excited to get to know her and play for her.”

Rakers joined the MCHS volleyball program when she was a freshman. In her junior year, she was named to the all-Eastern Missouri Conference team after recording 170 digs as a defensive specialist. Last fall, she recorded a team-high 233 digs, was named to the all-Class 2, District team and was voted academic all-state by the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association for the second year in a row.

“I am going to miss this place. I’m really going to miss the girls I played with,” Rakers said. “I’m going to be making a lot of trips back home to watch them in the upcoming years. But mainly, I’m going to miss the fans and community here, which I believe that Hannibal, being a Christian school, is going to bring the same kind of sense of community there, which I’m excited about. The main thing I’m going to miss at Montgomery is just the fans, my family and my teammates.”