The volleyball team will play its first district game against Marcus on Sept. 8 at Marcus High School at 6:30 p.m.
Last year, the team finished with an overall record of 3-11 in district. The team has already played around 30 games in three weeks during the Marcus Showcase from Aug. 11-12, the Northwest Tournament from Aug. 17-19 and the Volleypalooza from Aug. 24-26. Head coach Karin Keeney said they are learning crucial things about themselves before the district season starts.
“When you put six girls in a 30-by-30 area, it takes a lot of communication and [coordination] so they have to get used to playing next to each other,” Keeney said. “[Tournaments] develop that bonding and [the ability] to know what your teammate is gonna do. [And it also made me realize] that we have a lot of depth — we have kids who can come up off the bench and help us when we need it.”
Aside from maintaining their game structure and gameplay, the team said they have also made an effort to better uphold team culture and make sure that everyone, no matter their grade level, feels included.
“I know that when I’m hitting up at the net and I turn around and look at a group of five people that are always supporting me, surrounding me whenever [needed], surrounding me when I do something great [or] when I’m falling behind, that’s a big indicator of ‘you’ve got this and this is going to be great,’” senior right side hitter Sophie Hoke said. “I feel supported and connected with everyone.”
The team has worked on covering its hitters and terminating the ball instead of having the vollies go back and forth. They have also gained three new coaches: Rachel Buckley, Emma Petolick and Zachary Zimmerman, all of whom have had a great relationship with the team so far according to multiple members. Junior captain Addison Vary said she believes the team has become more dedicated to the sport and more consistent.
“We’ve grown so much and nobody thinks we can do it,” Vary said. “We’re the underdogs right now because of our bad ranking last year, so I’m excited to go out there and show [them how we’ve improved].”
As a program that has won five state championships in its history, last year’s losing record was not a common occurrence. Senior captain Kaylin Ginsburg said a goal for this season is to move on from the last.
“I would say our challenge is forgetting about last year, wiping it clean and starting a brand new year,” Ginsburg said. “Our biggest challenge is shaking off our mistakes. We definitely sometimes can get very mental — myself included — or get wrapped up in mistakes. But we need to learn to shake it off and move on to the next thing.”
Regardless of the past, the team is continuing to work hard this season with hopes of making it to state. Multiple members, along with Keeney, said their driving force is to just have fun and enjoy themselves.
“We don’t win every game, but when we don’t, we’re learning something new about ourselves, [and] about things we need to improve on,” Keeney said. “[The girl’s] attitudes are there, their energy is there, and they’re making this season a lot of fun — and when it’s fun, they do better. Whether they win or lose, [the team is] fun to watch [and] I’m super proud of their effort this year.”
