Yearbook Sports Copy

Kelsey Thompson, Westwind
West Henderson HS (Hendersonville, N.C.)

Back to back: Varsity, junior varsity teams achieve undefeated seasons with varsity team winning state championship

Senior Leigh Smith’s powerful spike into the gym floor in the Reynold’s Coliseum on the North Carolina State University campus ignited the crowd; the volleyball team had won a state championship for the second year in a row. Only this time it was different. The team had completed a perfect 36-0 season.

The team ended the post season with a win over Cedar Ridge in only three matches. The Lady Falcons took the opening match with relative ease, 25-12.

The second match was much tighter ast he Falcons led a 22-20 game before scoring three of the last four points for a 25-21 triumph. The third match was a blowout with the Lady Falcons prevailing, 25-6, earning another state championship.

“Winning state all over again was like déjà vu for a lot of us. It was a great experience to accomplish our goal and yet bittersweet to do something no volleyball team has ever done at West or in the state because it was the last time I was ever going to play with those girls again,” senior Leigh Smith said.

Although the varsity team will lose seven seniors out of the 14 team members, the team will have five returning juniors and two returning sophomores.

This should not be an obstacle to next year’s team. The juniors from this year’s varsity team have gone a consecutive 75 games undefeated.

The junior varsity team consisted of sophomores who will move up to the varsity team. For three years in a row now the junior varsity team has managed to stay undefeated each season despite the challenge of new freshman each year.

“Our winning streak is mostly due to the fact that our team has respect for one another on and off the court. We’re not just friends on the court; we’re close and spend time together outside of practice and games. We all work together to our full potential  and make the best of each season,” sophomore Sarah Hyatt said.

Bringing home the championship trophy two years in a row wasn’t the most important accomplishment to Head Coach Jan Stanley.

“The joy of coaching these girls was incredible,” she said. “They worked so hard in practice and in games and were so much fun to watch play. It was also great winning back-to-back championships, but the memories I have of all of those young ladies through the years are ones that I will never forget.”