B-E Volleyball Season Wrap-up
By Sydney Hoffman on November 19, 2018
As the 2018 volleyball season comes to an end, I would like to congratulate all of the junior high and high school teams. The varsity team especially was able to complete many great things including winning a tournament, being ranked first in region 5 and advancing to the Class B SoDak 16 tournament.
I have played volleyball since sixth grade at Bridgewater-Emery. Many schools do not have an option for sixth graders to play volleyball. Instead, volleyball does not start until seventh grade in most schools. Starting a year early provides an extra year of practice. The first year is when the fundamentals are learned. Once those are learned, the rest of junior high can be used to practice those fundamentals and learn more skills. Having that extra year of volleyball in junior high is what I believe better prepares the freshmen for high school volleyball. I am a senior now, but when I was a freshman, five of us were on varsity, three of which started.
We continue to see this level of skill in the younger classmen. The younger classmen made up the junior varsity team this year. This team went undefeated throughout the season, finishing with a record of 19-0.
These younger classmen had much to look up to. The varsity team consisted of ten seniors. The senior class this year, in general, is a very competitive and successful class. They are a class that is really involved with high-achieving grades. The effort that these ten seniors put into their activities and school work carry right onto the volleyball court.
The season begins in August, usually with long practices full of conditioning. While the girls may feel sore the next day, I noticed that during conditioning, everyone gave 110 percent. Our teammates pushed each other to be better and finish hard.
As the season progressed this year, so did our skill level. Over the course of the season, junior Sophia Potter had 359 assists, and sophomore Kerrigan Schultz had 351 assists. Senior Joslyn Schrank led the team in digs with 390 this season, and senior Katelyn Kotas added 288 this season. Both players received their 1,000 dig during the season. I, senior Sydney Hoffman, accumulated 220 kills and 57 total blocks this season, and junior Haley Schulz had 164 kills and 86 total blocks. Junior Kennedee Weber had 133 kills, and her sister, freshman Julia Weber added 108 kills. Schultz led the team in aces racking up 39 total.
As our skill level progressed, so did our mental toughness. The varsity team especially improved their sportsmanship, leadership and encouragement on the court as the team progressed through Schrank’s Bible lessons before each game. These lessons opened our minds to what truly matters when playing the game of volleyball: using the skills that the Lord gives you to play up to your fullest potential while executing positive forms of encouragement and sportsmanship. Win or lose, God has a plan for us. It is up to the team just go out and play our hardest, and that is exactly what the varsity team did in their final game in Wall against the Faith Longhorns Nov. 6 in the Class B SoDak 16 game.
Faith pulled ahead at the end of a close five-set match. The set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25 and 15-17. Going into this game, the Huskies watched game film together and strategized against Faith, who had a previous record of 26-1. In the locker room before the game, Schrank said her last FCA lesson with us, and together, the team prayed and talked about goals and plays. You could see how badly each of the players wanted the title. All year, our team talked about improving our attitudes and picking each other up. In our final match, that’s exactly what I did.
Individually, maybe it wasn’t everyone’s best game. Personally, I did some things well as a middle hitter, and other things I could have done better; however, volleyball is not an individual game. This game involves the six on the court, the others on the bench and the supporting crowd. As a complete team, this game was by far the best game that this Huskie team has ever played, even if we didn’t play our best game individually. We encouraged the other players in a positive way throughout the game, and we also encouraged ourselves on the court. We didn’t hang our heads in crucial points in the game. We played hard throughout the whole game, and we could not thank our student section, parents and community enough for their support. I have never seen a more excited crowd; they never gave up on us. The team knew that it would be a tough game, but our community believed in us all the way. When the game came to an end, the crowd became just as emotional as the players. This showed the dedication and heart that the crowd put into this team. Thank you, Bridgewater-Emery community, for all your support and kind words, even after the season ended.
After the crowd and players, one more piece to the puzzle makes up a team: the coaches. None of this would have been possible without our coaches motivating us and making us work hard. All three coaches―Mary Ernster, Christina Schultz and Dayna Jones― have multiple jobs other than coach from teacher to mom or even a singer in a band. Despite their busy lives, the coaches put much time into this team. Dayna recently had a long-recovery surgery, and she still supported this team with her whole heart. Mary Ernster, head coach, deserves some special thanks. She scouts, watches game film and talks to other coaches to find out information about the next opponent. She did this to prepare for every game, no matter the opponent’s record because a good coach does not allow for her players to overlook any team. Coach Ernster worked for this team on and off the court. With all of the work she put in for this team, I often wonder how she is able to juggle being a teacher and a mother.
The senior girls along with the rest of the team are forever thankful for each other, the coaching staff, the community and the opportunity to play with such a good team.
Senior middle hitter #13 signing off...
I have played volleyball since sixth grade at Bridgewater-Emery. Many schools do not have an option for sixth graders to play volleyball. Instead, volleyball does not start until seventh grade in most schools. Starting a year early provides an extra year of practice. The first year is when the fundamentals are learned. Once those are learned, the rest of junior high can be used to practice those fundamentals and learn more skills. Having that extra year of volleyball in junior high is what I believe better prepares the freshmen for high school volleyball. I am a senior now, but when I was a freshman, five of us were on varsity, three of which started.
We continue to see this level of skill in the younger classmen. The younger classmen made up the junior varsity team this year. This team went undefeated throughout the season, finishing with a record of 19-0.
These younger classmen had much to look up to. The varsity team consisted of ten seniors. The senior class this year, in general, is a very competitive and successful class. They are a class that is really involved with high-achieving grades. The effort that these ten seniors put into their activities and school work carry right onto the volleyball court.
The season begins in August, usually with long practices full of conditioning. While the girls may feel sore the next day, I noticed that during conditioning, everyone gave 110 percent. Our teammates pushed each other to be better and finish hard.
As the season progressed this year, so did our skill level. Over the course of the season, junior Sophia Potter had 359 assists, and sophomore Kerrigan Schultz had 351 assists. Senior Joslyn Schrank led the team in digs with 390 this season, and senior Katelyn Kotas added 288 this season. Both players received their 1,000 dig during the season. I, senior Sydney Hoffman, accumulated 220 kills and 57 total blocks this season, and junior Haley Schulz had 164 kills and 86 total blocks. Junior Kennedee Weber had 133 kills, and her sister, freshman Julia Weber added 108 kills. Schultz led the team in aces racking up 39 total.
As our skill level progressed, so did our mental toughness. The varsity team especially improved their sportsmanship, leadership and encouragement on the court as the team progressed through Schrank’s Bible lessons before each game. These lessons opened our minds to what truly matters when playing the game of volleyball: using the skills that the Lord gives you to play up to your fullest potential while executing positive forms of encouragement and sportsmanship. Win or lose, God has a plan for us. It is up to the team just go out and play our hardest, and that is exactly what the varsity team did in their final game in Wall against the Faith Longhorns Nov. 6 in the Class B SoDak 16 game.
Faith pulled ahead at the end of a close five-set match. The set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25 and 15-17. Going into this game, the Huskies watched game film together and strategized against Faith, who had a previous record of 26-1. In the locker room before the game, Schrank said her last FCA lesson with us, and together, the team prayed and talked about goals and plays. You could see how badly each of the players wanted the title. All year, our team talked about improving our attitudes and picking each other up. In our final match, that’s exactly what I did.
Individually, maybe it wasn’t everyone’s best game. Personally, I did some things well as a middle hitter, and other things I could have done better; however, volleyball is not an individual game. This game involves the six on the court, the others on the bench and the supporting crowd. As a complete team, this game was by far the best game that this Huskie team has ever played, even if we didn’t play our best game individually. We encouraged the other players in a positive way throughout the game, and we also encouraged ourselves on the court. We didn’t hang our heads in crucial points in the game. We played hard throughout the whole game, and we could not thank our student section, parents and community enough for their support. I have never seen a more excited crowd; they never gave up on us. The team knew that it would be a tough game, but our community believed in us all the way. When the game came to an end, the crowd became just as emotional as the players. This showed the dedication and heart that the crowd put into this team. Thank you, Bridgewater-Emery community, for all your support and kind words, even after the season ended.
After the crowd and players, one more piece to the puzzle makes up a team: the coaches. None of this would have been possible without our coaches motivating us and making us work hard. All three coaches―Mary Ernster, Christina Schultz and Dayna Jones― have multiple jobs other than coach from teacher to mom or even a singer in a band. Despite their busy lives, the coaches put much time into this team. Dayna recently had a long-recovery surgery, and she still supported this team with her whole heart. Mary Ernster, head coach, deserves some special thanks. She scouts, watches game film and talks to other coaches to find out information about the next opponent. She did this to prepare for every game, no matter the opponent’s record because a good coach does not allow for her players to overlook any team. Coach Ernster worked for this team on and off the court. With all of the work she put in for this team, I often wonder how she is able to juggle being a teacher and a mother.
The senior girls along with the rest of the team are forever thankful for each other, the coaching staff, the community and the opportunity to play with such a good team.
Senior middle hitter #13 signing off...
