As the volleyball season at THS comes to a close, district tournaments are starting up. The Lady Trojans had a great season without losing a game yet, and they played confidently Monday night against the Magna Vista Lady Warriors in the district semi-finals. The Lady Trojans won the game with a sweep and remain undefeated. The scores of each set were: 25-7, 25-11, 25-6. Delaney West had nine kills and eight aces. Colby Eastwood had eight aces. Carlie Marshall had nine kills and two blocks. Parris Atkinson had eight assists, six digs, and four aces. Madison Austin had 11 assists and three aces. Izzy White had six assists and two aces.
The Lady Trojans continued to dominate in the district championship against the Halifax Lady Comets, fighting to win. They won in a sweep, once again, with scores of 25-19, 25-13, 25-21. This makes them back-to-back district champs. West had 11 digs, six kills, and three aces. Eastwood had 10 kills and 14 digs. Marshall had nine kills and two blocks. Lauren Torborg had 10 kills. Atkinson had 16 digs and six assists. White had 24 assists and six digs.
District semi-finals recap:
West is one of the three sophomores on the varsity volleyball team. West was pumped before the game, and she was ready to take the win. “I think we’ll beat Magna Vista even worse than we have before.” West said, “we’ve prepared for these upcoming games so much.” The Lady Trojans have played in different tournaments with competitors they’ll be playing in regionals and states. West had a very specific routine before this game because she wanted to be able to play her best. She got a lot of rest the night before, and she ate good food. “I feel tired after a full day of school, so I grab foods that will give me energy,” West explained. She also listens to her favorite music to get her in the mood to win.
Since this game is vital in their placement in the district tournament, some players were anxious going out on the court. “[My teammates] are always finding ways to cheer me up and help me shake my nerves,” West said. Her biggest supporter is her mom. “I can always look at her in the stands, and she’s telling me what I can do to be better,” West said. When she’s on the court, she talks to herself to motivate herself. “Talking and yelling at myself is the only way that motivation sticks in my head,” West elaborated. West predicts that they can make it through regions, and possibly states if they push themselves. “I’m looking forward to beating teams that we’ve lost to before, so we can show them we’re ready for them,” West said, “now that we know how they play we can beat them.”
Junior Kamauri Mays was thrilled to pull the win and advance to the district championship. “I was super proud for us to come out and show that we’ve worked hard and how it’s paid off,” Mays said. She wasn’t too nervous for this game, and she didn’t have a strict pregame routine. “I just goofed around and ate good food,” Mays elaborated. She also wears a hair tie around her finger for every game for goodluck. Before she went out on the court, she prepared herself mentally and physically. “Trying to work on my mental toughness is something I will always have to do,” Mays explained.
Her support system throughout the game were her teammates and their amazing abilities to pick her up throughout the whole game. “Every girl on the team loves to see each other succeed, so they get super excited for me,” Mays said, “they jump up and down and scream, and I do the same for them.” The girls all have such a strong bond with each other, and they love to see each other play to the best of their abilities. “My girls have my best interest at heart, and that makes me so much more confident playing next to them,” Mays said. Coach Paige is a huge support system for the team as well, and she was very proud of her team. “She was pumped for us coming out in the beginning, getting ahead early, and doing what we know how to do best,” Mays said.
Making mistakes is inevitable in the game of volleyball, and some even call it a game of mistakes. Mays thinks that since you’re going to make a mistake no matter what, you have to learn from it. “I have to tell myself that my girls have my back, and the game is not on my shoulders alone,” Mays said. Mays has faith that if they continue on this path that they’ll make it far along in the tournament. “I am looking forward to seeing good competition and getting to play more and more with this team,” Mays said.
Senior Brittany Hicks was elated after their win. “I feel like we deserved this win because we worked so hard to get here,” Hicks said. With this being her senior season, she is on fire and ready to keep advancing in the tournament. Hicks’ pre game for Monday night consisted of listening to music and communicating with her teammates on the plan for the game. “Coach Echols was very proud of us,” Hicks explained, “she was so happy with the way we played and that we worked our hardest.” Her biggest supporters that night were her teammates. “I could hear every single one of them cheering,” Hicks said. They were relentless when it came to supporting those on the court, and they cheered for every single point earned. While Hicks had her fellow teammates as her cheerleaders, she also encouraged herself throughout the whole game to stay positive. “I just kept telling myself ‘you got this’.” She predicts that they can go all the way to states if they continue with the way they are playing now. “I am looking forward to playing as a team, and winning as a team,” Hicks said.
District championship recap:
Torborg was super excited to win the district championship. “I felt great and super proud of our team,” Torborg said. Becoming district champs is just the start for the Lady Trojans. “Coach Paige was very excited for us, and she is ready for us to accomplish our next goal,” Torborg said. Torborg and the rest of the varsity team is pumped to play in regionals, and they are ready for more competition. Their first round of regionals is coming up, and they will play Abington High School. “I think we’re going to play well,” Torborg explained, “we have come a long way since the beginning of the season, and I can’t wait to show it.” She predicted that they will get far in this tournament, and they will continue to improve. Her favorite part of the night was the amount of energy from her teammates. “The level of excitement from the team when someone would make a great pass or get a kill was by far the best part of the game,” Torborg said.
Some players will occasionally get pulled up from JV to get a chance to play with varsity in the postseason. Freshman Avery Tucker was one of those players. She had a huge weight on her shoulders, but she handled the pressure like a champ. “I love being able to play with a phenomenal team like our varsity,” Tucker said. She is only a freshman, but she packs a punch in her playing skills. “I felt like everything they had worked for this season had paid off with this win,” Tucker explained. She has played with the varsity team a couple times before this and has got the opportunity to watch them grow from the beginning of the season to now.
“I’m pumped to be able to play in regionals with them,” Tucker explained. Whether she’s in the game or on the sidelines, she is one of the biggest supporters for The Lady Trojans. “I always do the best I can to support the team with whatever spot I’m put in during the game,” Tucker elaborated. She believes they can go as far as they want to in this tournament as long as they crave the win more than the other team. Her favorite part of that night was the team bonding over the win. “I loved how much closer it brought my teammates and I,” Tucker explained, “every practice we tried our best to push ourselves, and each other, and it really showed.”
Watching these girls from the stands is the best experience. They are truly inspiring with the way they play, and I’m so excited to see how far they make it in this tournament. THS wished them the best of luck!
