VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball off to Strong StartBY WILL YOUNG ON OCTOBER 10, 2014
The Rose volleyball team is off to a strong start. The girls have swept Conley twice and are looking towards a playoff run and state championship. Many of the team’s starters from last season returned this year. Caroline Kuhn, a sophomore starter, is enjoying how the season is going.
“It feels really good knowing our hard work in practice is paying off and that our mental game is getting better everyday,” Kuhn said. Even though volleyball is a fall sport, a successful season requires hard work during the summer. “We go to Carolina camp every year which really helps because we get another coach’s perspective,” senior captain Hope Gibson said. Also, most of the players trained hard by themselves during the offseason to be ready for the season. “I know a lot of girls did weight training, and we made sure to stay in shape during the summer,” senior Jessica McClellan said. The summer is when most fall sports teams get in their conditioning to increase their stamina that they will need for the season. “I feel like everyone worked harder individually, and it is showing now," Kuhn said. With the exception of Conley and South Central, the conference has not given them as much competition as the playoffs will. The team is focusing ahead on the long playoff road ahead to the state championship. “Everyone needs to stay focused and keep working hard,” Kuhn said. The first time Rose played Conley was one of the only times Rose has been losing in a game. It was a good experience for the team because they proved they can battle back which is an important skill against strong teams. “When we were down against Conley we realized how bad we wanted it, and that is whenever we pulled ourselves back up,” Gibson said. The team had a great season last year, but it was not until the first Conley game when this year’s team fully realized their potential. “Everything clicked when we played Conley at Conley because that has been our hardest competition so far and we came together,” Gibson said. The state championship is important to the team, but they have other goals too. “Besides the state championship, we want to be conference champs and get a lot more of our girls recognized for colleges,” McClellan said. 2008 was the last time the volleyball team brought home the coveted state championship, but the attitude from this year’s players is that 2014 will be the next banner to go up in the gym. “Our team has more drive to win because we know we can get far in the playoffs,” Kuhn said. |
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