The Varsity Girls Volleyball team look to build off their good start to the year which involves placing first in the silver bracket in the Plainfield North Crimson Classic, going 4-1 on the weekend. Since then the ladies have been on a 6 game winning streak including Lockport and conference rivals Plainfield South and Oswego.
Coming off a shortened-season due to Covid, the ladies feel they have a strong team this year led by many seniors, which sets them up to compete in conference and potentially even further.
“Our main strength this year is how balanced we are,” Head Coach Bobby Richardson said. “We have multiple options for each spot, which is good and bad because it means we have depth, but it is difficult to decide on playing time.”
Along with being more balanced, the team has also improved on the offensive aspect of the game compared to the team last year.
“Last year we had about 1-2 main offensive targets in comparison to having 4-5 targets this year,” Richardson said. “This sets us up to be able to get out of tough situations easier.”
Despite an improved roster and strong senior class, the ladies still find themselves facing difficulty this season, mainly from the shortened season last year.
“We don’t understand teams due to a lack of games last year,” senior Hannah O’Brien said. “Most of the private schools we play, we did not play last year, so we do not know what to expect from them.”
Even team captain and senior Jenny Shook, who is eyeing playing D1 college volleyball, has found herself struggling with the role as captain.
“As team captain I find myself struggling to find a balance between pushing teammates while not wanting to come off as too pushy,” Shook said. “Also as a team we can struggle to get everybody on the same page with the high expectations we have set for ourselves.”
Despite a few difficulties in the season, they’re not enough to stop the ladies from having sky high expectations.
“We are devoted to winning and because of that we know we can finish top three in the conference,” junior Kinsey Bakhaus said. “We know what we’re capable of, we just need to play well.”
“If we stay humble and prevent ourselves from playing down to competition we will put up numbers on the banner and finish towards the top of the conference,” O’Brien said.
“If we remain focused on being good teammates and trusting the process, there is no limit to what we can do,” Richardson said.
Catch the ladies next at home on Sept. 30 as they take on Yorkville.