The girls varsity volleyball team is ranked first in the 6A class of high schools by the Kansas Volleyball Association, according to head coach Molly Haggerty. Being ranked first is very exciting for the team, junior Adeline Ellis said. Haggerty said this is an excellent feat for the team because last year the team remained unranked throughout the entire season.

“The girls have just completely turned this program around and have taken some initiative,” Haggerty said. “They have beaten some some really good teams and made people respect them.”

Ellis said she believes the rest of the season will go really well. After a few more matches, the girls will go off to compete in Sub-State. The team has a good chance of making it to State if they set themselves right during Sub-State, Ellis said. Aside from the high rank, Ellis said her favorite thing about this season is the team itself.

“We get along so well and have this team chemistry,” Ellis said. “Everyone is always laughing and having fun. Everyone on the team is so talented this year. When we found out we were ranked first, we definitely had a good idea of how the season was going to go. We have really high hopes and expectations.”

According to senior Teryn Pinneo, the team has worked really hard since summer to reach this level of success. They lifted weights and conditioned multiple times a week during the summer, and during the season, they have practice every day after school for two hours.

“We are really pushing to work hard every day at practice and at the games,” Pinneo said. “We’re giving it our all. Even though we’ve lost a couple of games, we’re still trying our hardest and we really think we can make it. I think it will be tough, but if we all play our best we will do really well – especially if we play as a team.”

Haggerty said the biggest difference this year is the number of seniors. There are total of eight senior players on the team and all of them play well and make a huge contribution to the team, she said. This has significantly raised the team leadership.

“[The seniors] want their teammates to work hard,” Haggerty said. “ They want to make the most out of the time they have together. We’re just going to  continue to get better and practice. [The team] has to stay focused. The reward at the end of the season, which could be a state title for us, is right around the corner, but they’ve got to earn it.”

The girls hope to continue their streak as they take on Blue Valley High School tonight at 6:30pm at BVNW.