Tiger Volleyball Gains Statewide Recognition MCDONALD NAMED ALL-STAR ASSISTANT COACH

PRAIRIE GROVE — Hannah McDonald is in her second year as Prairie Grove head volleyball coach and already she is putting the program on the map.

McDonald will coach on Wednesday in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star game as an assistant on the West staff. The honor represents a major achievement for McDonald in her relatively short coaching history. She has been head coach and overseen the Prairie Grove volleyball program since 2011. Prior to that, McDonald served as Prairie Grove assistant volleyball coach from 2009-2010.

In her first season at the helm, the Lady Tigers went 8-8 and advanced to the state tournament continuing a tradition as Prairie Grove has qualified for state for 10 years straight including this past season when McDonald guided Prairie Grove to a 15-5 season, winning the 1-4A Conference championship, district tournament and advancing to the state semifinal. “It is quite an honor to be named to the All-Star staff, especially by your peers. I owe it to the girls that I coach because without them I wouldn’t be the coach I am today,” McDonald said. “It’s recognizing that Prairie Grove is coming out in the lead when it comes to volleyball and it’s giving us a name when it comes to volleyball.”

After growing up in Texas, McDonald has bounced around the country somewhat before coming to Prairie Grove. She earned a degree in Secondary Math Education from Western Baptist College at Salem, Ore., then moved to Columbus, Ohio.

“It was culture shock to move from a beautiful place like that to a city where everything seems to be concrete,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s s i s te r, Michelle Jackson, and brother-in-law, Jeremy Jackson, live in Gentry and McDonald fell in love with their two children, Wyatt and Emily, and wanted to be closer to her family so she started looking for a job in Northwest Arkansas and landed at Prairie Grove.

Ironically, the Tigers and Gentry Pioneers are conference rivals. Yet, when competition begins, McDonald said she enjoys her family’s full support.

“My sister lives in Gentry. She definitely roots for Prairie Grove, she doesn’t have a choice.”

“After our state semifinals, my niece had a Tiger mask and she was screaming across the gym, ‘Go Tigers, go Tigers.’ It was really cute.”

While McDonald had support from her family at the state tournament held at Harrison, she said one of the nice things is Prairie Grove Tigers online streams a lot of games with live webcasts.

“My parents, who live in Ohio, are able to watch our games and that’s really nice. So, I have support from all over,” McDonald said.

McDonald has taken to the small-town atmosphere of Prairie Grove.

“I love how it’s a family. The whole town is one big family. We watch out for each other. It reminds me of a town I grew up in Texas and it’s home.”