Senior varsity volleyball player Shelby Epley hits the ball over the net.

Volleyball Girls Make Last Serve

December 7, 2018

Volleyball for girls on the team is not just a sport. The team is comprised with a lot of senior talent, such as Isabel Maib, Shelby Epley, Kennedi Lemmond, Abby Teicher and Ryan Kuharski. Most play club volleyball with a select team that plays during the high school off-season. Lemmond and Kuharski have been playing volleyball together since middle school. Lemmond said that the team’s chemistry has brought them closer not only as a unit, but as a group of friends.

“I’ve been playing for about 10 years, since I was eight,” Lemmond said. “I played a lot of sports when I was younger and my parents put me in volleyball. Since then, I fell in love with it and made it my priority sport. What kept me in volleyball was my friends. Going through the hard times with your teammates made it all worth it. My favorite memory from playing for the school was my sophomore year when we went to State. It was an amazing experience and it made me proud to be a T-Wolf. I will miss my teammates the most, the thrill of winning games with them and definitely the locker room jam sessions.”

Epley was also a big part of the team this season. As a middle blocker, her defensive presence was necessary to the team going 31-13.

“I’ve been playing for six years,” Epley said. “I wanted to play volleyball because I had an older sister who played and going to her games and being in the gym 24/7 made me want to play. What kept me in it is my competitiveness and my love for the game. My favorite memory is the state tournament my sophomore year. It was so surreal and being apart of it was so incredible. Also beating Rouse this year was a great memory because so much prep for the game and determination was what pushed us.”

Maib is a player who has been playing volleyball since fifth grade. She said the memories that she has made in high school volleyball are unforgettable.

“I made sure to always hold myself accountable and attend practices, if not for myself, then for my teammates,” Maib said. “My favorite memory was definitely when we beat Rouse this past season. Everybody rushed onto the court and yelled and sung as we were all so proud of one another for working together to get what we needed done.”

Kuharski has been playing volleyball for a total of eight years, alongside Lemmond and a few other friends of hers. She said that although it was not always easy to stick with the sport this whole time, it was surely worth it.

“I initially wanted to play volleyball because all of my friends started showing an interest,” Kuharski said. “So we all started together. There were definitely times when I wanted to stop playing but I didn’t because volleyball has been a part of my life for so long. I knew I would regret it and wouldn’t know what to do without it. My favorite memory is going to state my sophomore year. It was an experience I will never forget.”

With a collection of gold, silver and bronze state medals, the seniors in fall sports have built a legacy since they were freshmen in 2015.