Volleyball focuses on teamwork during the new season
October 7, 2021
Building on last year’s success, the volleyball team is now 17-8, currently ranked No. 9 overall in Nebraska volleyball according to the The Omaha World Herald.
Assistant coach Tatum Anderson said that the players have focused on improving their teamwork and the coaches have prioritized enhancing players’ skills.
“The beauty of a new season is it creates an opportunity for an entire team to evaluate what worked and where we can get better, along with allowing other athletes to compete to make our program better,” Anderson said.
According to junior Heather Fogarty, for two years now, the volleyball team has changed a tremendous amount from the players, to the way they play. Yet, they continue to work hard to be a strong and a competitive team.
According to Anderson, the coaches expect more from the players such as preparation, effort, and determination. The team is expected to give it their all so they can return to state this season.
“Last season was very special for the obvious reason of returning to state,” Anderson said. “It was a season of building confidence for our athletes to show them the rewards of consistent hard work on physical abilities.”
When preparing for games, the players manage their nerves by doing meditation and locker room hype-ups. When the players meditate they use the app NeuroFuel to prepare their mind and body for a game by trying to relax while staying pumped.
“Before games we meditate to calm our nerves down and we visualize how we want to play and how we want our outcome to be,” sophomore Kayla Eggiman said.
Pregame hype-ups help the girls get their adrenaline pumping so they can play the best game possible.
“We also have this grit sign above the locker room that we run and tap on for good luck,” Fogarty said.
So far, this group of players has created a winning team. With the players and coaches playing to each other’s strong suits, they know how to make each other successful.
“We consistently have conversations about the legacy they hope to leave and continuing to work hard to establish the expectations for those that will follow,” Anderson said.
