As the season progresses, the Warren Central girls volleyball team has already had their fair share of games. Out of those games, they have had a record of more losses than wins.
However, they are still going strong and still motivated to keep going as they play their last few games before competing in sectionals.
Genesis Tarigan is a junior at Warren Central High School and has been playing volleyball since the eighth grade. To Tarigan, the sport feels genuinely fun to play and she enjoys it. After the first couple of games, she still feels ready to keep going.
“I feel pretty good,” she said. “The team this year is really good and so is the chemistry we have.”
When the season first started, Tarigan still had a bit of uneasiness, but she was able to overcome it with hope for all the games approaching.
“I felt kind of nervous, but I was excited for the games coming up and to see how much I’ve improved from last year,” she said.
Tarigan says the person who has helped her the most throughout her volleyball career was the main setter for the team, Hannah Nicholas.
“She plays the same position as me,” Tarigan said. “She’s helped me with my setting and being able to move around the ball.”
Every athlete has a routine that gets them prepared for their practices and games, that gets them up and going. Tarigan’s routine is that she listens to music, strategizes with her team and mentally prepares herself.
Tarigan also has another motivation that keeps her going, and that is her little sister who will be joining her at Warren Central next year.
“My little sister is my motivation because she plays volleyball as well, and next year will be her first year with Warren and my last,” she said.
Another player is Malia Hillsman, a junior who also loves the sport. Out of all the sports she has played, Hillsman feels like volleyball has really helped her get into a great group of people.
To Hillsman, volleyball has more of a family aspect than all the other sports she has participated in.
“I’ve played other sports before, but I feel like I’ve found the most amount of community with volleyball,” she said.