As the girls volleyball team heads for their postseason, their preparation has already begun. Studying film to analyze where they struggled and where they were successful. Then going on to practice and strengthen these weaknesses.
“They are motivated to win a Sectional this year and it can be done if they want to do it,” Head Coach Alexis Blake said.
Before their victory against Valparaiso, the team faced off against Whiting. After struggling at first, Coach Blake believed the girls were holding themselves back. However; after motivation from Coach Blake and others, they kicked into gear, later winning the game 3-2. The next day, without practice leading to, they faced Valparaiso where they beat them for the first time since 2008.
“Same thing happened that day when we played Valparaiso. They were making silly mistakes and once we talked, they changed their mentality and brought the energy and communication which helped them win,” Coach Blake said. “No balls hit the floor after that and they played to win.”
When you are faced with a challenge, Junior Lucinda McCollum believes there are ways to overcome adversity.
“I think just staying positive, especially like Indiah [Day] …she does a good job just, staying loud and everything,” McCollum said.
Senior leader Indiah Day credits the team for their progress, but knows they could’ve done better in some aspects. As they enter the postseason, Day knows what she wants to improve on.
“I wanna be able to encourage my teammates better, just staying out of my head, keeping them up and doing all that I can,” Day said.
Leadership is one of the many strong points. Coach Blake describes Day as vocal, saying she leads by example, and the players look up to her. Leadership is strong in volleyball as Coach Blake believes volleyball is sometimes considered 90% mental.
“One of my team’s strong points comes from our leaders on the court … Indiah Day is a phenomenal player who will work hard at practice and sacrifice her body for any ball,” Coach Black said. “Another strong point is having a setter who can run a quicker tempo offense and be offensive herself. Lucy McCollum currently leads in the DAC for assists and it is truly deserved.”
However, when games get tough, Coach Blake is known as a motivator to the girls. She wants to challenge them more physically and mentally. Being positive is Coach Blake’s motto.
“She definitely pushes us regardless, but kind of like a change in her tone…she’s like, you guys got this, you just gotta keep talking to each other and she just really keeps telling us, just keep fighting,” Day said.
