Girls Volleyball is a very important sport here at Technology High School. It invokes a sense of school spirit and friendly rivalry with other schools, but how do the players themselves feel about the sport? What would they like us to know? This is the second year that Tech High has both junior varsity and varsity teams, and it seems like everybody is excited to improve.
In an interview with Leah Gast, a junior at Tech High and one of last year’s JV team captains, she said that this year has been good so far, “The team has a really good dynamic, and we’ve won a game, and [we] came close to winning our second game.” Gast thinks that the team’s relationship is at a good place, everyone gets along, and they have good court chemistry, “No one is a liability and we’re all doing really well,” she added.
Of course, there are struggles that come with playing a sport. One that Gast talked about was managing schoolwork and volleyball at the same time, “Varsity has to watch JV games, and JV has to watch Varsity games, so we can’t do work in that time,” she mentioned when talking about managing practice and how she handles school obligations in addition to the sport, “It’s a bigger commitment than you’d think.”
In contrast, there are things that Gast thinks are very easy when it comes to volleyball like the relationship all of her teammates have with each other, “It might be natural, but we work really well together and there hasn’t been issues between anybody so I’d say the easiest part of volleyball would just be getting along with my team. We’re a really great team.” Gast does a lot outside of volleyball as well; she’s in the drama class, tutors, and played softball in the past. Gast ended the interview with a piece of advice, “I know it sounds so cheesy but don’t give up if you’re not good right away. I was terrible my freshman year, and then I was the
captain of JV my sophomore year.” she concluded.
In another interview with varsity team member Ashlynn Hogan, a junior, she thinks that last year she was less confident on the court, however this year her relationship with her team members and skill on the court has improved a lot from when she was just beginning. Hogan has been working hard to improve in volleyball specifically with her mindset on the court, “One part that’s been really hard for me is not getting in my head when I make a mistake,” however there’s a lot that comes naturally to her, “One part that’s been easiest is loving volleyball, It’s easy to want to go to practice every day, and want to play, and want to do better.” Hogan joined volleyball because of friends she knew played, she also knew that she wanted to play a sport in high school. Hogan believes that the most important part of volleyball is communication “Playing with your team, communicating with them, and trusting them, because volleyball is such a team sport.” Hogan finished her interview by advising new players to trust themselves, their skills, and their teammates.
Tech’s volleyball players are clearly very dedicated to the sport. The teamwork they have and the drive to improve and do better is visible in every game they play, and their love for the sport helps them as well. Our school’s volleyball teams show commitment and community amongst the players, making them stronger than ever and ready for the rest of this year’s season.
