The Westside Warrior volleyball team, currently ranked No.5, played an amazing game sweeping Lincoln Pius X on Tuesday, October 14. The players put their all on the court and celebrated the seniors at one of their last home games as Warriors, as their season comes to an end.
The Warriors started off strong in the first set going on a lot of runs. Pius made comebacks little by little, but in the end the Warriors took the set 25-18. Pius brought it back in the second set and battled the Warriors point for point, but the Warriors quickly shut it down winning the set 25-19. Both teams kept their energy up as they battled for the third set, but the Warriors came out on top with a score of 25-22. Senior libero Jane Kubat talked about what this win meant for the team.
“I think it’s just a really big deal for us. It builds a lot of momentum, and it was just really special to get a big win on our night,” Kubat said.
These seniors have meant so much to the team and it is so exciting to see what their futures hold for them. Throughout their Westside careers they have been important to their teammates, coaches, and the community. Head coach Andrew Wehrli has been at Westside for two years now and he has really enjoyed coaching this group of young athletes and valued their commitment to the sport and their team.
“Talk about servant leaders. Something we talk about all the time. Just what it means to, be relational focused,” Wehrli said. “These guys have just been terrific. I mean, they’ve just had a really high standard in terms of what it means to play together as a team, and that’s a lot harder than it is to be great at volleyball. And I got to tell you, from a leadership perspective, they’ve just done a terrific job.”
Creating good relationships within a team is very important to coaches but it is even more important to the players on the team. The relationships that are built when you share your love for something with others are very meaningful and that is what is happening with this Westside team. Senior outside hitter Reagan Siebler talked about how much this team means to her.
“Yeah, it’s a really sad to see senior night already, but I just love these girls so much. These are my best friends,” Siebler said.
High school volleyball is exciting, but it can be even more exciting to see college volleyball. Being able to continue their volleyball career and play at the next level is a great accomplishment that three of the seniors get to experience. The future is looking good for these players and they can’t wait to see what is next for them. College volleyball brings a lot of challenges but it is very rewarding in the end. Senior right side hitter Makenzie Wingett is committed to Lehigh University to continue her academic career while playing Division one volleyball.
“I’m really excited just to learn a lot of new things being in a new environment,” Wingett said. “I think it’s important to push yourself beyond your, like, what you’re used to, and I think that I’m gonna see a lot of that.”
The Warriors have had a good season so far with a record of 16-7. The improvement the Warriors have shown is promising and it is obvious that they will continue to improve throughout the rest of their season. With districts and state quickly approaching, the Warriors will keep working hard to end the season on a good note. Senior outside hitter Madeline Lamb describes how the team is going to prepare to hopefully take state.
“We just need to finish strong and keep working hard in practice. We’ve had a couple hard weeks of practice, so I feel like we just need to stick together and play as a team,” Lamb said.
The Warriors have the Westside Invitational on Saturday October 18th, with the first match against Millard North starting at 9:00 am. Be there, be loud, and be proud! Rollside!
