Varsity:
OHS volleyball is putting their best foot forward this season. Intending to win state again as they did last year, they are proactively putting effort toward achieving this.
By relying on the excitement of the season ahead and the new bond with their teammates, the games ahead look promising for girl’s volleyball.
“I’m excited for this season because last year we won state and we have the same goal for this year and although it’s a different team, we’re creating new goals [and] we’re [working on] mindset,” said Brooklyn Palmer, junior.
Ready and full of motivation, the team is able to rely on each other’s strengths to work toward their goal of winning state.
“We’re very resilient and work really hard to get the things that we want,” said London Clark, freshman.
With their goal in mind, the OHS varsity girl’s volleyball team knows the importance of working well together. To further their teamwork, they are not only putting effort into practice for the sake of doing well at games but also to build chemistry with each other.
“Recent practice has gone really well. We have four freshmen on the team this year so we’re really trying to build that chemistry so we have to be patient, but it’s going pretty good,” Palmer said.
During practice and before they hit the court, the team is putting their bond to use, encouraging teammates to play their best.
“We do dynamic stretching and we also do little notes that cheer each other up,” Clark said.
With the persistent work they are putting in, the varsity team is creating a positive and helpful dynamic for them to rely on when it comes time to play.
“I think the dynamic is really supportive. In most schools, you’ll see how seniors or upperclassmen are more of a leader and like to take that leader role as compared to the younger kids, but I feel like since our age groups are really mixed up, I would say the dynamic is pretty mixed in. It’s pretty diverse,” Palmer said.
JV:
Alongside varsity, this year’s JV volleyball team is also striving toward making themselves even better than they were before.
With a new season comes new players and new opportunities to make the most of athletes’ time on the court. By relying on their teammates, some returning players are already seeing improvement from last year.
“I just think the atmosphere is really similar, and our skill level has definitely gotten better, but the respect between teammates is the same and just the family aspect is the same,” said Reese Blair, sophomore.
By putting effort into relying on each other, the team is already starting to become more coordinated and in-sync on the court.
“[My favorite part is] getting to play all together as one and I’ve met new people from volleyball,” said Trinity Hanrath, freshman.
Though this is only the beginning, the team is already building a strong bond with each other that is benefiting them in all aspects of the sport.
“We’ve got so much chemistry, like just as players and as people. Just being able to balance being friends off the court and being teammates and sisters on the court, it just works,” Blair said.
Alongside the natural friendship that comes with the game, the team is putting their all into practice, working toward success on the court.
“We work really hard in practice and outside of practice we have weight training so that gets us ready to play for games,” Hanrath said.
Though they are prepared to put the proper effort into playing well, they also understand what is most important. When it comes to the game, it is necessary to not only work hard but also to have fun with teammates.
“Our goals are just to win as many games, become a really strong family, and just have fun. Having fun is basically just the goal really because [in] volleyball you’re supposed to have fun and if you’re not having fun you’re in the wrong place,” Blair said.
