Junior high volleyball has ended with a bang this year with a close game against the Vikings. The team improved this year, with the players taking pride in their newfound skills.
“I thought this season went pretty well, especially for having a new coach. I thought it was going to be a little iffy but it actually went pretty well,” eighth grader Natalie Neff said.
Players enjoyed the season, with them finding that despite the trials and tribulations, they loved the game all the same.
“I would rate this year's performance an eight; we did pretty good, but we had our ups and downs,” eighth grader Emma Mourousas said.
Players worked to overcome challenges they encountered, with them striving to overcome their shortcomings.
“My weakness is probably upperhand serving because I could barely make them over the net sometimes,” seventh grader Kaydance Zirkel said.
Team members wouldn’t just settle with fixing old mistakes, but actively sought out improving in other parts of volleyball.
“I definitely improved on my serving; I got really good at serving. I do overhand [serving] now, and I’ve definitely improved. My spiking also got a lot better than I expected,” eighth grader Kayleigh Trimmer said.
Knowing that high school volleyball is much more competitive and there’s more techniques to learn, the transition from one level to the other is challenging but knowing their weaknesses can help them improve easier.
“We definitely got better this year, though I think that we still need to work on serving as a whole. Besides that, I think we improved a lot,” Trimmer said.
The team managed to do its best throughout the year, carving its way through both victories and defeats. With so many games, a few stuck out in the minds of the players.
“My [favorite] game was probably the Vikings, because they were a challenge but we still defeated them,” Trimmer said. “We lost the first match but dominated them the second, so we did one to 15 [points] and they had 5 points by the time we got 15.”
“My favorite maybe was against Osage because people were like, ‘oh, man, we're gonna lose to their D team, how bad are we?’” Eighth grader Kailyn Budke said. “We, like, made fun of ourselves and it's kind of funny, especially when we beat them.”
With the season ending, the girls had time to look back on the season as a whole. Ultimately, they were happy with the way the season went for them.
“There’s some things that we could have done better throughout the season, but I’d say it was pretty good altogether. We won some and we lost some, it’s about as good as it gets,” Budke said.
Though the season has ended, time has not and the girls are already preparing for next year’s season, mainly by simply keeping their skills honed for the next year.
“I think that having a good relationship between teammates can really improve your playing ability. If our team were having problems, it could really affect how we played and how we worked together as a team,” seventh grader Lexi Price said.
With Tammy Jirak stepping down as head coach, Kathy Coble, a kindergarten teacher from the elementary school, rushed to fill the void that was left.
“With this being my first year coaching I worried most about not knowing the girls on a more personal level. I have not taught any of them nor did I really know who they were,” said Coble. “I have not taught any of them nor did I really know who they were. There were a couple that I had met before the season or even camp but not many.”
“I was a bit nervous as I didn’t know any of the girls and it is very important to me to have a strong relationship with the teams I coach,“ Coble said.
The eighth grade volleyball members will officially be moving onwards to the high school level next year, taking the challenges and rewards with it.
“I am sad to see the eighth graders move on. They were a great group to coach, but I feel like the season is so short that I barely got to see all they could accomplish in volleyball,” Coble said.
School sports is a good way to get involved with school activities and provides a great chance to bond with other teammates.
“I think that having a good relationship between teammates can really improve your playing ability. If our team were having problems, it could really affect how we played and how we worked together as a team,” Price said.
