Ashville High’s Mara Mattison (left) and Angelica Gillispie signed to Southern Union State last week and will play volleyball for the Lady Bisons.

Last week two Ashville seniors, Mara Mattison and Angelica Gillispie, signed with Southern Union State to play volleyball.

Both girls said that they are eager about the prospect of playing volleyball at the next level of competition.

“I’m really, really happy and can’t wait to get back into volleyball mode,” Gillispie said.

“I’ve met some of the players that will be on the team and some that we’ve played against [in high school] and I think that they’re really nice and I’m looking forward to playing there,” Mattison said.

Both players recently finished a stellar basketball season that saw them play into the regional tournament at Jacksonville State.

But on the volleyball court, Mattison and Gillispie earned the nicknames of Peanut Butter and Jelly, respectively, because of how well they play together on the volleyball court.

Denise Mattison, Mara’s mother and the Ashville varsity volleyball coach said that she was happy both as a parent and a coach to see the pair do so well and achieve so much in their years under her watchful eye.

“She’s worked hard and she’s had to put up with me for many years as her coach,” Denise Mattson said of her daughter. “I’m just excited for her to get the experience. I know her class work will continue, she’s number one in her class and that’s something that I know she’ll do well in.”

As a coach, Denise Mattison said of her daughter and her teammate, “She and Jelly both, I couldn’t ask for any better leaders than they were. But, it’s like [varsity girls’ basketball coach Dale] Beason said, they’d be the first to tell you that they couldn’t have done it without their teammates… I think that they will excel.”

Mara plays as a setter and Denise Mattison said that there are two other setters on the Lady Bison roster, so she hopes that Mara will see some playing time next season.



For Gillispie, Coach Matison said that she should be able to have a major contribution to the Lady Bison team. “Jelly has a vertical that’s unreal. She can slam the ball down and I think that that’s going to pay great dividends for Southern Union and that’ll be an asset for them. Southern Union is a great college, their campus is nice and it’s so good for both of them. They’ve worked hard for it and they deserve it.”



Gillispie’s mother, Angela Torres, said that she is excited about her daughter playing on the collegiate level and echoed many of Coach Mattison’s sentiments. “It’s great. She is a child that well deserves it. She has played her heart out for all kinds of sports over the years.”



Torres, who has been watching her daughter’s volleyball skills improve since she was in middle school said that she was very proud of her daughter and added that she can’t wait to see how well she does at college. “I’m very proud of her,” Torres added.