The girls’ volleyball team wrapped up their season with both a learning experience and a bittersweet ending. This year, Grace Heller, the team’s only senior, reflected on how the team has changed.
Grace talks a little bit about the difference of this year, versus a few years back: “The team has definitely changed a lot. Thinking back to two years ago, there was a graduating class of 9 seniors, with 8 of them playing in college. They set some high standards for the team. While we only have 1 senior this year. Heller says, “the next few years have some really strong classes and will surely be very competitive. That’s not to say we aren’t competitive this year, but there is definitely growth to come.”
Despite the majority of the team being younger players, Heller empathizes the perseverance the team possess: “I’d say we have a lot of grit.” Heller shared, “While we’ve played some really great teams this season and have experienced more losses then we would’ve liked to, that hasn’t stopped everyone from working hard. Efforts have paid off recently; we beat CDS 3-2, so that was a really great moment for us.”
Being there is less experienced players on the team, keeping everyone positive is important. Grace motivates her younger teammates by always staying positive and supportive, a role she says she would have appreciated when she was a younger player.
Grace is not the only one that keeps the team motivated, sophomore Shebly Steppacher talks about how the girls motivate each other on and off the court: “My teammates and I keep each other motivated with positivity on and off the court, but we also push each other to work hard constantly. On a side note a push of motivation comes from competing for a spot on the court as well.”
Junior Lucy Zielin emphasizes the importance of their teamwork. “Teamwork is necessary, especially for a sport like volleyball because you literally cannot play a game of volleyball by yourself. If we do not have good teamwork we will not be successful because there will be miscommunication and bad vibes on the team.”
Zielin feels that the bond they posses is crucial to handling losses and moving forward. The season concluded with Regional finals, although they did not win, the team viewed it as an opportunity to learn and to grow. Grace described the experience as “bittersweet.” The team was definitely sad that we lost, but on the other, we were so proud of how far we had come. We came out the gate very strong, we won the first set 25-16, but after that we struggled to hold the wheel.”
While some regular starters faced physical and mental challenges, this opened up chances for other players to step in, which was exciting for the team to witness.
“I’ve learned how to speak up for myself and how to withstand adversity. The team faced a lot of adversity this season too and has learned a lot about perseverance. I’m not sure anyone expected us to do as well as we did in the regional tournament, but I know they will only improve from here. Everyone should be excited to see what they accomplish next season.”
With a season of friendship, and growth, the team looks forward to building on these experiences for a stronger future.
