The FC Varsity Volleyball season has come to an end. What better time than now to get to know the players! I interviewed each one, asking questions about this past season and how it went.

The questions were as follows:

1. What is your favorite thing about volleyball?
2. What was your biggest goal this season?
3. How long have you been playing?
4. How did you like your position and what did you do?
5. What was your proudest moment this season?
6. How did your team get along with each other?
7. (Seniors) What will you miss about volleyball?

Alyssa Britton

#1 “My favorite thing about volleyball is getting to spend time with my friends outside of school and building really strong relationships while playing a game I’ve been playing since I was little. I’ve made some of my best friends through volleyball, and it’s just something I will never forget. I look forward to practice almost everyday, going into the gym knowing that we are going to laugh and have fun but also work hard to accomplish our goals.”

#2 “Our team has a lot of potential, and I believe that we can make it really far when the section comes. One of my biggest goals is to go to state this year with our volleyball team because I think that we can do it. I know it’s going to take a lot of hard work, but I know that we have the skill and the team chemistry to get us to state. I hope we can accomplish that.”

#3 “I have been playing volleyball since fifth grade, started JO in fifth grade, and then played it ever since.”

#4 “I have a love-hate relationship with my position sometimes, but I love being able to be a big body up front and to get a lot of blocks. That’s what I love about my position.  I’m really proud of myself for learning how to run fast tempo middles because that is something that took a lot of hard work and was really hard to learn.”

#5 “My proudest moment so far is probably our five setter in Zumbrota. That was a really fun game. The 5th set-when I went on my serving run-was one of my proudest moments. Also, breaking the FC block record was a big accomplishment.”

#6 “I feel like a lot of our teammates are very similar, and we are very close outside of volleyball. I feel like we are basically one big friend group. We just understand each other, and we don’t make anyone feel left out. We can all be ourselves around each other. I think that’s important because no one feels judged. We are a a very close team. We are family.”

#7 “What I will miss most about volleyball is probably coming into the gym and at games, peppering with Kammry every single day. I will really miss that, but I will also miss all of our team practices, games, and team tournaments. I’ll just miss being able to spend time with my team. That’s gonna be really hard to move on from.”

Esme Gastfield

#1 “My favorite thing about volleyball is the memories you make.”

#2 “Play in another game, get more kills, also to go to state…”

#3 “I have been playing since eighth grade.”

#4 “You can’t do anything without a DS. I like it because I get to slide on the floor.”

#5 “Getting two kills at our Homecoming game and the crowd going wild…”

#6 “We are honest with each other, and we don’t like to hold stuff back. If there is something that is bothering us, we will talk about it right in the moment, just to get it done and over with.”

 #7 “The team, making memories with my teammates, seeing how younger people have grown up, and where they are now…”

Kammry Broadwater

#1 “Our team chemistry and how close we are…”

#2 “My biggest goal is to make it to state.”

#3 “Since like third grade…”

#4 “I like that I can see the court better than if you were in the middle, and I like that I get a lot of jump balls.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota twice…”

#6 “I feel like it’s because we are all so close, like not just in volleyball but outside of it too.”

#7 “I’ll miss Travis and going to team camps. I’ll miss the team and everything we do in the summer.”

Katie Pickett

#1 “I like the team and our chemistry this year. We all really like each other, and I think that makes playing easier.”

#2 “I mean going to state would be pretty cool.”

#3 “Since fifth grade… yeah…”

#4 “We control the offense, and we get to touch the ball the most times in a rally. It’s important. It’s fun setting people up for big kills.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota was pretty cool.”

#6 “We are all friends inside of school, and we like to have a good time.” 

#7 “The trips that we take to the cities and the time that we share as a team…”

  Annika Mensink

#1 “My favorite thing about volleyball would definitely be the team chemistry we have, the bus rides, and the locker room jams that we have as a team.”

#2 “I think that the biggest goal for our team this year is to win our section and make it farther than the previous years.”

#3 “I have been playing volleyball since fourth grade.”

#4 “I think that the special thing about being a middle is that you get to be a big person up at the net and block all hitters. I love being a middle hitter and being able to block and be able to move around as a hitter and run quick sets.”

#5 “My proudest moment has to be when I beat Zumbrota and beat Stewartville for the first time in Travis’s coaching history.”

#6 “I think that our team gets along with each other because we all enjoy being around each other and love being able to work together because it is always fun to succeed.”

Brooklyn Simon

#1 “Being with my teammates, getting to spend a lot of time together, and getting close with everyone…”

#2 “To win our section..”

#3 “Since 4th grade…”

#4 “I like being on the right side because I have a lot of responsibility blocking the outside hitter. I like being there to help out whenever I’m needed.”

#5 “Getting to be a starter…” 

#6 “I think since we are so close in and out of sports, it helps a lot. The team bonding that we do outside of sports helps a lot with being close with everyone.”

Ella Dahly

#1 “Getting to spend time with the girls on the team and have fun…”

#2 “My biggest goal this year [was] to continue to put in lots of work to help myself improve and start putting myself in a leadership position for next year.”

#3 “I have been playing volleyball since fifth grade.”

#4 “Something I think is important and special about being a right side is blocking the other team’s outside hitter. I like being on the right side because I am left-handed, and that plays to my advantage in this position. I can hit all kinds of shots easier than someone that is right-handed.”

#5 “I think my proudest moment is beating Zumbrota and Stewartville. These are both teams we have had trouble with in the past, and beating them shows we are improving as a team and are able to reach new goals.”

#6 “Team chemistry…I believe the reason why our team gets along so well is that we all have been playing together or watching each other for a very long time. Volleyball is a big part of each of our lives, so we have all grown close to one another and have lots of memories from our years of volleyball.”

Izzy Nagel

#1 “Spending time with my teammates and Travis…”

#2 “Beating Caledonia…”

#3 “For as long as I can remember…”

#4 “I like my position because I get to do everything like blocking, hitting, passing.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota twice…”

#6 “I think that we have very good team chemistry, and we all have a special bond with each other.”

Lily Miller

#1 “Probably the team, the team dynamic, and how close everyone is…”

#2 “To become more consistent and hopefully make it farther in the playoffs…”

#3 “Since third or fourth grade…”

#4 “I like managing the back row with Kyla. I like being a team with Kyla.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota…”

#6 “I think that a lot of us were already friends outside of volleyball. During the volleyball season you spend so much time with each other that you just get to know everyone really well, and you get to be close friends.”

Savannah Erickson

#1 “My favorite part about volleyball is being able to spend time with my teammates and seeing them be happy after achieving something great.”

#2 “To improve everyday and winning our section…”

#3 “I’ve been playing since about fourth or fifth grade.”

#4 “I like being able to help block the outside hitter and contribute to the team.”

#5 “My proudest moment is when we won against Zumbrota and Stewartville.”

#6 “I think we get along with each other because we are all pretty similar, and we all like most of the same things. We also are close outside of school and volleyball.”

Aubrey Daniels

#1 “Everyone getting hyped for games…everyone coming and supporting…”

#2 “Go to state…”

#3 “Third grade…”

#4 “I’m involved with every single play no matter what. I get to set the hitters up for success.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota twice…”

#6 “We have a tiny school. We are all involved in everything together like band or choir. We all do things together in general and are all the same age.”

Cora Britton

#1 “Being successful as a team…”

#2 “Go to state…”

#3 “I went to camps with Kyla in third grade.”

#4 “Getting to block and hit…I like when I do something really good, and it ends the play.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota in season…”

#6 “We are all very alike. We are nice to each other.”

Kyla Hellickson

#1 “Being successful as a team…”

#2 “To make it into the third round of playoffs…”

#3 “I was balling it up downstairs with my mom when I was like five. I started going to camps in third grade.”

#4 “I always play in the back row which is really fun. I like the feeling of accomplishment when I get a good dig.”

#5 “Beating Zumbrota twice in season…”

#6 “We have interests in the same things, so it’s easy to find common ground.”