The sound of a ball hitting the floor, and the loud cheer of the crowd are only a couple of indicators that volleyball is in season. The start of a new school year holds many opportunities for students to grow and improve. Sports, like many other things, change and grow. This year volleyball experienced a multitude of new changes to their expected season. With new coaching staff, and an almost entirely new team, the volleyball season ahead looked promising.
After multiple changes, the team stepped into completely new territory. With a new set of coaches after the unexpected leave of the prior ones, math teacher, Ms. Becca Pessler took on the duty of becoming head coach of girls varsity volleyball. With the help of coach Pessler the volleyball team started their pre-season off with weekly practice throughout summer. Once the school year rolled around, Ms. Kennedy Kochan took on the role of assistant coach. With Coach Pessler and Kennedy having experience playing volleyball the team was heading in a good direction.
“I was so happy that Ms. Pessler volunteered to be the coach for volleyball. I had Pesseler in pre-calculus last school year and made a very good connection with her. When she said she was going to coach I was so excited to see what the season in front of us held,” captain Annabelle Komlos (12) said.
After losing two vital seniors, the team gained eight new freshmen. Since the team increased in size it was expected to see a lot of relationships built this season. The three returning seniors, Komlos, Trista Sommerville (12) and Isabella Bonzo (12) took on important roles in helping build the new team. With practice, the team was shaping up into a cohesive team After two months of pre-season, the team jumped right into playing games.
The team started their season off against the Riverside Panthers on Aug. 27, where a well-fought battle ended in defeat for the girls. Even with the prior loss, the girls went head-on back into games, where they faced off against Western Beaver on Aug. 29. While junior varsity won their game, varsity fell short and lost 2-3 against Western Beaver. With a small break to step back and improve their errors, the team went up against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) on Sept. 3. Even after the break Freedom fell to OLSH 0-3. Looking forward to their next game, Freedom took on Lincoln Park on Sept. 4. With a good change of direction the team won 3-0 and broke their losing streak. Unfortunately, the team would later be defeated by New Brighton on Sept. 5, Mohawk on Sept. 9, and Northgate on Sept. 10.
“Even though we are losing we are learning so much from these matches, and getting better connections with one another. Though losing is not fun it makes us a better team, so the losses we face now could help us take big wins later in our season,” Morgan Blank (9) said.