The volleyball season kicked off in early August before students were back in the classroom, and two freshmen are occupying the varsity roster, Ariana Brown and Mikala Sampson.The team is currently undefeated in district play. 

Brown, an outside hitter, started volleyball when she was 5 years old. With so many years of experience, she knows to keep her head in the game. 

 “Mentally, I just listen to music and say positive things in my head like ‘you can do this; take care of it’; inspiring things to keep my energy boosted up,’” she said. 

Brown revealed how she stays encouraged.

“ I try to find the little things on the court and stay positive. Like, I might not being doing one thing [well], so I focus on something else,” Brown said

Sampson, who plays middle blocker, pushes herself to be the best athlete she can be in order to get a scholarship to go to The University of Texas in Austin.

“[What motivates me to keep pushing myself is] to get a scholarship for college and to prove that I’m actually a really good player,” Sampson said. 

Head coach Kate Zora pushes her team to reach for the stars. 

“I think it takes all players time to adjust to the varsity level, she said. “They are high performing athletes that are used to being very successful. We are very excited to have them on our team.” Zora said. 

 Zora said that it is not often that freshman make varsity. 

“These are special players that have a great future ahead of them,” she said, “They have a very mature level to their game. They make great decisions and stay very composed.”

Teammate and sophomore Keirstyn McFall said she enjoys working with Sampson

“She’s always hyped and ready to go,” McFall said, “She’s pretty crazy and she likes to have fun.

McFall also talks about Brown’s best qualities on and off the court. 

“Ariana’s really funny and she’s constantly laughing. On the court, she goes into game mode and is a beast,” she said.

Team members acknowledge the importance of being there for each other. 

“It’s really cool [to play with freshmen], seeing as I was a freshman on varsity,” Sophomore Abby Sweeney said. “It’s cool to see them grow as a player and see how I can help be that mentor on the court.”