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By: Macy Mullin
The smack of the ball, the swoosh of the air, and the bounce as the ball hits the other side of the court. ACE! The crowd cheers as the team celebrates the point, and ready themselves to continue the game. Sparked with a new source of incentive, our very own EJHS Volleyball teams started this year's season on Monday the 22nd against Brown County. The 8th grade had their second win of the season, and the 7th graded went all the way to a third set!
I talked to 8th grade volleyball player’s Ava Sieglin and Claire Kapellush after their home game win against Owen Valley on Wednesday of March 24th. I also talked with Jayla Howard from our 7th grade team. I decided to talk to Ms. Sieglin first, our 8th grade middle hitter.
Ava Sieglin
Ava Sieglin has been a EJHS volleyball player for two years now. When asked about tryouts, Sieglin responded with, “They were good. All the 7th graders that came to the open gyms tried out.”
During the summer, volleyball coach Elizabeth Edgeman, hosted an after school event on Friday for incoming 6th graders and last year's 7th graders. You might be wondering, who started Miss Sieglin's love of volleyball? “My neighbor was doing the Girls Inc. Volleyball events and I thought that was cool, I want to do that. I then started doing developmental leagues, Tier Ten events, and my first club season was this year.”
Now, what are players to expect at a practice? “We do warm ups, run two laps around the gym, buttkicks and arm stretches. Then we do our arm stretches, and warm up our arms by throwing a ball against the wall. Then for the last 30 minutes we scrimmage.” With all of those practices, players start to feel prepared for the games.
“So, the 7th graders usually play first, then they play and then after the 8th grade captains are called to the court to do a coin toss. Whoever wins the toss gets the ball first, and are given permission to begin their stretches and warmups on the court.”
“On the bus ride home, you are vibing and excited over the win.” says Sieglin about the aftermath of her games. Overall, the effectiveness of a win really impacts the team. “I like winning and playing against other teams, and I like my teammates and being able to play in a game we all like.”
Claire Kapellusch
Claire Kapellusch is also a second year member of the EJHS volleyball team, and has played a total of 4 years. And as a second year player at EJHS, tryouts can sometimes be a bit unnerving. Kapellusch says, “They were fun, but you have to work hard and try your best and you will be fine.”
But how did one of our front row volleyball players get into the sport? “Some of my friends were playing volleyball and I wanted to try it.” said Kapellusch. She also says that practices consist of, "...a lot of drills , and there is some conditioning but it is fun.” When asked about how she feels during a game, Miss Kapellusch says, “It is definitely a little nerve wracking, but it is also really fun to play with your teammates.”
How about the how you and your team deals with what happens after a game? “We just have to look back on the game and find our mistakes and improve from them.” As a team, players must be able to work together to win a game, which Kapellusch says that her team does well. “Good, it's really fun and we get along great.”, says Claire when asked about how her and her teammates get along. With all of these things together, Claire Kapellusch says her favorite part of volleyball is, “That I get to be with my teammates and play the sport that I love.”
Jayla Howard
Jaylay Howard, the 7th grade teams Libero, says that, "This is my first official year of volleyball and tryouts went really well." When describing her tryouts, she says, "...we had to do some shuffling/footwork drills, hitting lines, passing, setting, etc."
"I did the EVYL (Edgewood Volleyball Youth League)." says Howard. When asked about practices, Howard says, " Practices are usually very fun but focused, unless we have to do serial killers/wall sits. Serial Killers are when Edge stands at a line on the court and we have to run from the wall to that line and back. We keep doing this until we do the basketball court/half court.
" After all of that preparation at practices, it is finally time for some games. "Games are a LOT different! For example, we feel obviously a lot more pressure at games, but we also get a bit too hyped up at games.
We talk about what we could've done better and what we did well, a pep talk for the next game then we go support the 8th graders. "
Putting together all of these things for players, coaches, and audience members really makes the experience enjoyable, especially for the players. "I love how it's so exciting to get to spike the ball and how well we all play together!"
Writing this article really was able to shed some light on what it is like to be a volleyball player at EJHS for me. I very much enjoyed talking to these players and hearing about the process of learning and playing volleyball at EJHS.
Macy Mullin
Macy is a 14 year old who enjoys watching MARVEL and Star Wars movies, reading books, and spending time with the people she cares about.
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