The volleyball season has begun and is already stirring up excitement among the Padua community. Varsity played their first game against St. Elizabeth’s and came out with a victory with the final score of 3-0. The freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams hold high expectations for this season and are ready to show everyone what they’re made of.
Freshman Team
The players on the freshman team are really excited to be a part of something so special at Padua. “I feel as if I’m part of a family instead of a team sometimes,” says Megan Mejia. The girls practice hard and are pushed to do their best. “Practices at some times can be very difficult especially when we are doing conditioning, which is running laps, using medicine balls, and other difficult tasks,” says Olivia Schneese. The girls have high hopes this year for the team. “I want to become a better all around player because of the more difficult and competitive atmosphere. I love how I’m challenged and can work on improving my skills,” says Megan. The team believes they have a great chance of beating the competition. “The teams’ expectations are to win every single game,” says Olivia.
JV Team
The JV team also has big expectations for this year. “ I want us to beat every single team at least once and play our hardest during every match,” says Megan Barnett. They have bonded with their new teammates and have become a close knit family. “I love my teammates,” says Megan. “We have bonded so much in so little time… we are all so close.” Being a part of a team is a great experience. “It is so much fun to be a part of the volleyball team, but at the same time it is a lot of work and responsibility,” says Megan. With almost every game being a win last year, the new team has a lot of pressure on them, but they still believe they will be victorious. Megan says, “I think we will be very intimidating to the other teams and we are strong enough to beat them.”
Varsity Team
This year the varsity team is very pumped for the new season. This is the seniors’ last chance to be the first Padua volleyball team to win the state championships and they have a lot of expectations. “I want us to be the best team we can be. We want to be the team who got the first volleyball banner up in the gym,” says Erica Engler. “ I really expect us to all learn more about ourselves and really see what we are capable of on the court as individuals and all as a team, we’re presented with every tool possible to only get better and I believe we are embracing those tools well,” says Lauren Mellor. The Varsity team is looking forward to this season. “I feel it’s a new year, new team, new coaches what better year than this to go all the way,” says Lauren. “The team is looking really good so far, but we still have a lot of work to do before we’re ready to play the big games against St. Mark’s and Ursuline,” says Erica. This year, Lauren Summa, Sarah Landry, and Erica Engler are all co-captains of the team. “I think we are doing great jobs of being leaders both on and off the court,” says Erica.
