As the girls volleyball team starts the season, the athletes are working hard to prepare for the season. With the team going to the state final four last year, the team is looking to go even further this year.
Team members said one of their biggest things that they are working on in practice is communication and their serve receives. Last year, the team went to the state final four and played Butler High School but unfortunately lost in the fourth set.
“I would say we have been focusing a lot on serve receive and communication. If you can’t serve, it can either win or lose you a game. So it’s important to have that as a good skill. Also, communication plays a huge role because it can determine whether the ball stays in play or not. Without it, the ball can drop at any moment,” junior Brecken Allenbach said.
Another thing that the team is working hard at is being very competitive. Sophomore Lexie Siyak said they have been working on their serves and serve receive. They also do many defense and offensive drills.
“We have very competitive practices and focus a lot on our mentality and our identity, Simyak said.
The team will be having some of its hardest challenges when facing its rival schools, especially other Olentangy schools, like Liberty and Olentangy. The team plays Liberty on Sept. 29 and Olentangy on Sept. 12
“The biggest challenge will be when we play our rivals and having to focus on what we need to be good at. They are usually our rivals, so it’ll be a big challenge coming up once we start to play them,” Allenbach said.
The team has prioritized chemistry with each other as well. The players get to do weekly challenges to help the team work together and win. It also gives players time to practice and play with the players don’t normally play with.
“We do lots of team bonding and hang out outside of volleyball to get to know each other more.” Simyak said.
For both Allenbach and Simyak, the culture of the team and the relationships on it make playing some of the competitive games easier if they can have a good team connection
“My favorite part is the culture and the people. The sport itself is fun, but the people can make or break the season, but I feel like our team has such a close bond.” Allenbach said. Simyak agreed that the team’s culture is one of her favorite things about playing volleyball.
With strong team chemistry, communication, and competitive practices, the girls volleyball team will be ready for this season when going up against their rival schools and in hard competitive games.
