Westside volleyball headed back to state

The Westside volleyball team is headed back to the state tournament for the second year in a row. The victory comes off a sweep over Grand Island to win the A-4 District championship on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The Warriors dominated the match 25-12, 25-16 and 25-12. Westside head coach Korrine Bowers was impressed with her team’s performance.

“We were scouting Grand Island and the girls were relaxed, free, and having fun,” Bowers said. “I kind of stopped them and said we have to respect our opponent, we can’t take them lightly. That’s been one of my main things since coming to Westside, respecting your opponent. Don’t take them lightly, you never know. Any night, somebody could win and I dont ever want our team to take advantage of that. So we really took our time scouting these guys and it showed tonight. I spent a lot of time today scouting them. It was good to have KT(Kensington Tekrony) back in the middle. We had our whole starting lineup from the beginning of the year, so it’s nice to have all of our injured players back. We’re feeling good going back to state.”

The past two years have meant so much to the volleyball  program, who have earned back to back trips to the state tournament. Senior Samantha Laird leads the Warriors in hitting percentage and is ranked fifth in Class A.

“It means so much of the foundation that the seniors have built and how Korrine has built a strong culture within our program,” Laird said. “I think it’s finally starting to pay off through the years and months we’ve put in and it’s all starting to show.”

Defense has been a strong point for the Warriors this season, thanks to one of the best liberos in the state.. Senior Daniela Gologan leads Class A with 523 digs. Senior Jocelyn Healy has also made an impact as the setter with 842 assists. The good feelings are back for the Warriors, and for a team that has a culture of players supporting their teammates, this is what they’ve been waiting for.

“It feels really good, it’s nice to have that feeling again,” Healy said. “It’s great to have my teammates on my side and supporting me. It’s just a great feeling.” 

The state tournament has been a goal for the Warriors all season, even when they battled through injuries and had to change their lineups. The Warriors have learned how to adapt  this whole season, and that shows.

“I think it was really important to this year’s success,” Healy said. “We’ve all learned from it and it shows that we’ve learned from it. And I’m excited to get back in Pinnacle.”

Westside will take a 28-8 record to the state tournament and will be the No. 3 seed. The Warriors will face Gretna in the opening round at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.