Lake Stevens volleyball team traveled to San Diego to participate in a volleyball tournament from Oct. 5-8.
“We played great as a team,” senior Alyss Kelly, a prominent libero (back row defense specialist) in the state of Washington said. Kelly is currently committed to playing for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Going into the tournament this year, there was a “want” to win attitude, and they “wanted redemption against a good team,” senior Katelyn Eichert, a setter who is committed to the Westminster Griffins located in Utah, said.
Last year, the team strolled into the same tournament until they were handed a loss by Kamehameha High School located in Honolulu, HI, marking their first loss of the tournament. Kamehameha was a dominant program in the state of Hawaii last year, ending the season at #4 ranking in their region. This year they are showcasing a 35-8 record and a win percentage of 81%.
After a back and forth game, our Lake Stevens vikings were able to pull out the win with a total of 2-1. There were minor celebrations after the game though.
“There was a little celebration, but we had another game we had to get to,” Kelly said.
Although the rest of the tournament didn’t pan out how they wanted it to, the team is filled with nothing but confidence for the upcoming rest of the season and the mindset is clear for the girls.
“Staying disciplined is huge. No matter the team we go against, we need to come in with the same intensity and play up to our level. The goal is to go as far as possible and we want to grow as players but more importantly, grow as people,” Eichert said.
The Lake Stevens girl’s volleyball team has a bright future this season, holding a 65% win percentage. There is no shortage of confidence in these girls.
“Without the night, the stars can’t shine,” Eichert said.
Eichert’s metaphor means without struggle there is no success; embrace the struggle. That mentality is pushing the team to be successful.
