By Anh Mai | Sports |
With 12 wins this year, the varsity volleyball volleyball season comes to an end. With their first game on August 23, 2018, and their last game on October 31, 2018, they have worked hard and achieved a successful season.
During the week, they will have practices on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday that last for about two hours. On Tuesdays or Thursdays or both they will likely have a game to attend.
“A typical week usually involves 4 practices and 2 games, about 13 hours a week,” Avery Smith, senior and captain of the varsity team, said. On days where they have practice, they lift or condition, then they follow that up with drills and arm workouts. They also will do a hitting drill or scrimmage the junior varsity team when they have a game that day.
Although they put a lot of effort and time into their practices and games, Smith explains that volleyball is a great sport to her because of the bonds she has made with athletes from Lincoln High and other schools. Smith says that her experiences of the team have taught her how to “persevere despite challenges [and] also challenges [her] to always give [her] best, even if things aren’t going [her] way. Her experiences have taught her how to become a good teammate and work well with others which are “translated into school scenarios and other relationships.”
Smith’s favorite memory was the Omaha North tournament during her junior year when her team won and earned Lincoln High a plaque that “will hang in the hall of Lincoln High for years to come.” Since Smith is a senior, she will be graduating and is sad that she will no longer be playing for Lincoln High. But, she plans to participate in and support the volleyball team at her college as an intramural sport.
“In comparison to previous years, we had a great season! We beat teams that we hadn’t beat during my previous years here. [… and] and we have all grown very close as teammates and friends and for me, that is one of the most important successes of a season,” Smith said. In previous years, they were not able to compete with higher ranked teams, but this year, they went head-to-head against Pius X, ranked second in the state, and Millard South, ranked twentieth in the state.
This year, Kyndal Hudson, a sophomore on the varsity volleyball team, transferred to Lincoln High. As a new student, it can be hard to transition into a new environment, especially during the first months of the school year.
“I started meeting volleyball players in the summer conditioning sessions, and it has made my transition much easier. I have met many new friends, and built greater relationships throughout the season. It helps meeting upperclassmen at LHS and other peers who also play volleyball, that I can relate to,” Hudson said. “I am very glad I joined the team [..] and I am very happy to say that I have made great friends with everyone on Varsity, and also other teams.” Hudson has been playing volleyball since second grade and started playing for Nebraska One, a volleyball club, since sixth grade.
“It helps meeting upperclassmen at LHS and other peers who also play volleyball, that I can relate to,” Hudson said. “I am very glad I joined the team. […] I am very happy to say that I have made great friends with everyone on Varsity, and also other teams.”
The volleyball team has impacted Smith and Hudson’s life throughout their volleyball careers by creating and strengthening the relationships they built. The sport has helped them grow close to their teammates, taught them how to be part of a team and showed them how to become a better athlete, and have integrated a part of Lincoln High into them that they will not forget.
The 2018 Varsity Volleyball Team:
Seniors: Avery Smith, Shenvia Mann, Cydney Moore
Juniors: Delani Young, Regan Schneider, Bre Golden, Taylor Haywood, Parker Johnson
Sophomores: Gillian Kohl, Kyndall Hudson
Freshmen: Harper Case, Tyrah Wood, Bayla Young, Paige Christophersen
To find more information about the members of the team, sport scores, and the volleyball season, visit http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/lincoln-links-(lincoln,ne)/volleyball/home.htm.
Kyndal Hudson (10) and her team celebrate a good block on August 28th, 2018 at Lincoln High. Photo by Dat Nguyen.
The 2018 Varsity Volleyball Team:
Seniors: Avery Smith, Shenvia Mann, Cydney Moore
Juniors: Delani Young, Regan Schneider, Bre Golden, Taylor Haywood, Parker Johnson
Sophomores: Gillian Kohl, Kyndall Hudson
Freshmen: Harper Case, Tyrah Wood, Bayla Young, Paige Christophersen
To find more information about the members of the team, sport scores, and the volleyball season, visit http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/lincoln-links-(lincoln,ne)/volleyball/home.htm.