By Hayden Sampson

In volleyball, like most team sports, the most important aspect is not the number of players on the team. It does not matter how much equipment you have, or how tall your players are. What does matter is how comfortable the players are with each other, and the amount of effort they are willing to put in.

That is why this year’s Tempe Prep volleyball season is going to be one to watch. Abbi Harb, a senior captain on the varsity team, says, “The girls all connect really well, and we are working super hard day in and day out.” This dedication and enthusiasm for the game was exhibited in their huge conference win against Bourgade Catholic.

Bree Van Dahm, a sophomore on the team, says, “We struggled at the beginning, and just couldn’t get things started.” Having lost the first two sets, it seemed as though Bourgade was going to take the game in only three, a complete shutout. That was just not going to happen.

As Abbi explains: “We talked before the third game about different strategies to use, where to place the ball, identified strengths and weaknesses of players on their team, and improvements that we could make. We were determined not to go out in three, and we picked our energy up.”

This must have been successful, because our Lady Knights rallied and went on to win the next three sets in a row.

Their next game, against ASU Prep, was less of an exciting game, but in a good way. “We started out strong, and kept getting stronger. It makes me really enthusiastic about where our team can go.” They quickly defeated them in three sets, a complete shutout.

This season’s new head coach, Natalie Rockwell, is also eager for this team to get to work: “I’m really excited about building a foundation that we can grow into in the next couple years, especially since there is already so much talent in the gym.”

However, her tone changes when asked about what the potential is for this year’s team. “I think that everyone was coming into this as a growing year. I’m a new coach, we have some new players, and it’s kind of a fresh start. I don’t think we have to look at it as ‘Oh, we are just going to learn this year and grow.’ I think we have a chance to be really competitive.”

These past few games prove not only that our Lady Knights are prepared to be competitive, but to take on the challenge of going to state. At the very least, this will be an exciting year, and definitely one worth watching.