After school, the fields and courts are bustling with hard working athletes practicing Upper School fall sports. Yet an equally hard-working and often unrecognized group of athletes is found in the seventh grade girls’ volleyball team.
“A lot of us just play for fun but we’re still competitive,” said Mary Kathryn Hancock, seventh grade.
This year, rather than having a B and C team, the B team is broken up into two separate teams, called the Blue and White teams.
“We’re put into a league where we could technically play each other,” said Hancock, “but it all works out.”
Unlike the B team league, the league for the A team consists mostly of teams from Christian school systems, such as Messiah Lutheran and Zion Lutheran.
“The teams are pretty good actually. We’re right in the middle – we win some, we lose some,” said Courtney Beat, seventh grade.
Beat, a leader on the A team, has played club volleyball for three years, and most of the other girls have played on their grade school teams prior to this year.
“Westminster volleyball is a lot more competitive, and we have to work through entirely new rotations,” said Carley Brown, seventh grade.
The teams are coached by Allison Pautler, seventh grade math teacher, and assisted by Ashley Woodall and Deana Vandegriff, seventh grade teachers.
The combination of previous experience and a higher level of competition have made the season enjoyable for all the players so far.
“All of the girls get a long really well and we have lots of fun playing together,” said Gracie Arias, seventh grade.