Communication is said to be important in any type of relationship – friendships, with family members and in romance. Without communication there are misunderstandings. This is no different on the court. These misunderstandings can lead to anything from the ball hitting the court floor to two players running into each other. Therefore, volleyball players are taught that the key to winning comes down to communication and trust.
To build this, the volleyball team spends most of their life during the season bonding with each other. This summer, the team practiced for most of July and went to two camps. The first camp was at the new Sports and Events Center by the Liberty Bowl, and the second was an overnight camp at the University of Alabama. There, the team spent three days training with Division 1 volleyball players and sleeping in the university’s dorms, enjoying quality time with each other. Activities like the Alabama Camp grew the trust and the team’s sense of self.
“[It was] the beginning of the season and it was like okay this is how the team is going to be…this is [going to be] a nice solid team,” Kiersten Armour (11) said. “[These camps made me] look forward to the season.”
Despite missing summer training with the team, Kristen Branch (9) still had many opportunities to bond with her teammates. Even though Branch is one of the two freshmen on the team, she spends almost every day after school with the team. On some nights, Branch stays at school until seven or eight to improve her role as a setter and team player on the junior varsity (JV) and varsity rosters.
“I came in a little bit late, so I was really nervous,” Branch said. “But everyone was welcoming and everyone was working really hard on that first practice and I could tell it was a good team.”
The majority of the team are sophomores. This younger demographic has caused them to approach the season as a developmental year, honing on individual skills and the basics of the game. The lack of upperclassmen has reinforced the tenet of communication.
“Because we are so young … [there are] people trying to emerge as leaders and the other people trying to trust those leaders,” Denada Smith, the assistant coach for varsity, said.
The volleyball team has had a successful season, ranking first in the district with an 11-7 record. They played in multiple tournaments, making it to the gold bracket at the Annual Spartan Showdown (a tournament hosted at Memphis Sports and Events Center) and participating in the River City Classic (a tournament hosted at Bartlett High School). Senior night, known as “Wavy night,” celebrated the team’s only senior, Jayda (Wavy) Brown-Piverger. The team won in three sets against Central and the coaching staff wore shirts with Wavy’s name and picture on them to celebrate. However, losing against Germantown High School—their first real loss—caused a shift in the team’s mentality.
“I really felt like we could beat Germantown,” Armour said. “The only thing that kind of got us was… wanting it…but [the game] let me know these are things we do good in and these are things we did bad in.”
The idea of “wanting it” is a common theme among the games the team has lost. The volleyball team has “low lows and high highs,” according to many players. The team itself is close-knit and puts in the work to win all their tournaments. Their determination was exemplified with their victory at the city championships and then at districts. In the coming years, they continuously strive to grow as a team and build that communication and trust even more, using volleyball as a way not only to grow as athletes but to grow as people.
“As I have learned who I am and learned how other people are, it’s helped me be myself,” Armour said. “And when I’m myself I feel like I play better.”
