Volleyball team optimistic heading into Papio Invitational

The Westside volleyball team lost in a close game to Papio-LaVista South on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Heading out of that game and into the Papio Invitational, there are many ways the team looks to improve.

“It was really close,” assistant coach Krista Filipi said of the game. “We need to improve a little bit on our blocking and defense. We got burned a lot on tips and that’s kind of the two main areas we need to focus on.”

Senior hitter, Samantha Laird, who is 13th in the state with a .35 percent hitting percentage, has taken a big leap this season, and her stats and rankings show it.

“Samantha sees the ball really well,” Filipi said. “She sees the block really well, she sees the court really well, and she’s a super versatile player. You can shout in the middle of a set and tell her to hit a specific angle and she can do it. She can tool the block like nobody else.”

The team took a big hit with the loss of graduated senior Madelyn Seibler last season. With the lineups being decided in practice, it’s interesting to see how the changes impact the game.

“We are on our third lineup,” Filipi said. “We are still working on things, trying things out, and trying to figure out where our best six or seven with a libero and that seems to change day to day. We are all about playing time being earned in practices, and sometimes it depends on that week of practices. We are still working on it.”

Senior hitter Kensie TeKrony, who was injured earlier this season was injured and is taking steps to make a return.

“I went down and landed on Dez’s foot wrong, and went to the doctor the next day,” TeKrony said, “X rays looked great. The MRI came back and my tear is called the MPFL, Media patella fibular ligament. I’ve  torn it twice before and had it replaced once. So I’m going to rehab for three weeks and see if I can be back by the state tournament.”

Heading into the Papio-LaVista invitational, the Westside volleyball team is expecting good matchups with several good teams. 

“I think we are really prepared,” TeKrony said. “More prepared than we’ve been before against these teams. The matchups look pretty great, and with Liv subbing for me, I think she’s gonna do a really good job.”