Dominating the court and rising in the ranks with strong performances and power, the Wahawk girls’ volleyball team is ranked 13th in 5A as of Wednesday, October 8. But that’s not all, there is more to the team than meets the eye.
On Saturday, September 20, the Wahawks hosted the Eileen Bennigna Invite. At this invite, the Wahawks went 4-0, beating Marshalltown, Don Bosco, Waterloo East and Charles City. Senior Captain Ally Landers shares her fuel and motivation for the rest of the season after going 4-0 at the invite, and now the team is ranked top 15. “That type of recognition is huge because it helps to push the team to want more and keep that type of title of being ranked and also pushes us to want to continue to win,” she says.
Giving more insight, Captain and junior Ava Jones said, “As for using the momentum of being top 15 for 5A and on a winning streak, we will only keep getting better, stronger, and adding up our wins.” Not only did the Volleyball team go 4-0 at this meet, Jones also hit her 500th kill, which was celebrated with posters. “Reaching 500 kills this past weekend was a milestone that was very important to me. This is because as a player, I’ve worked very hard and to see that my hard work is paying off means a lot to me,” said Jones. She also stated that through her journey in volleyball, it hasn’t always been easy, but those challenging moments made her a better player, “such as resiliency and leadership.”
With goals crushed, new goals are set. Jones shares a few goals for herself and the team as a whole, “Goals my team and I are currently striving for are to give it our all. We believe with the hard work and dedication we’ve been putting into our season, we will continue to grow and improve.”
On Tuesday, September 23, the team faced Dubuque Wahlert, which was ranked 14th in 5A at the time. West High volleyball had never defeated the team, but that changed in this game. The Wahawks won the first two sets 25-19, pushing them to the 3rd set, where they lost 24-26, but in the 4th and final set, the Wahawks took home the win 25-22, which has never been done in West High School’s history. “I am most proud of the way we are able to come together as a team and run a successful offense because it takes all of us in order to get to where we are,” shared Landers.
As the season winds down and the MVC Conference Tournament is around the corner, the Wahawks have a few more chances to show what they are capable of.
