Coach Anthony Hernandez has seen steady improvement in the Lancaster Mennonite girls volleyball team during the past two seasons, and he's confident the team will take it a step further this season.
Players attending media day:
(from left)
Sophie Rothwein, junior, libero
Ellen Binkley, senior, middle blocker, right side
Ava Williams, sophomore, middle blocker, outside hitter
Last year, which included a first-round win in the District 3 playoffs, "they played their hearts out and just a different kind of volleyball than I've seen for the first two years that I was here."
The coach and his players agree they can go farther this season.
"We have a younger team for varsity, like last year we had three freshmen starting," says Binkley. "So it was just a young team. But now this year, those three freshmen went through a whole season of club volleyball and national volleyball, and so I think that's going to mean a lot of improvement for all of them." Conversely, the team lost only one senior starter to graduation.
Williams, a freshman last year, says everything was so new going from middle school to high school.
"Playing varsity as a freshman is defniitely a big step, but it was really fun, and I found my spot on that team."
Coach and players are hearing more girls are coming out for volleyball this year, and Rothwein sees an increase in commitment among the team's players.
I was here two years ago and it was very different. I felt there wasn't as much passion. I feel like the next year as girls who were more experienced kind of started coming up, I felt like I gained a new passion for the sport because you just saw how much commitment they had to the sport."
"If we play our heart out, I definitely think we're seeing big, big things," says Rothwein.
Binkley also is looking to have a strong final season while playing with her younger sister, Sophia, oen of last year's freshman starters. "It's going to be sad; it's going to be bittersweet for sure."
The three look forward to playing school rival Lancaster Catholic because they have so many friends on that team and their club coaches leads that team. They also look forward to returning to the court against returning Sectino 3 champion Octorara, who they pushed to the limit in really close games last year while playing their best.
"We'll be ready this year," says Hernandez.
LNP | LancasterOnline hosted Girls Volleyball Media Day at its downtown Lancaster office to connect local media with Lancaster-Lebanon League football players and coaches.
