The 2024 volleyball season ended triumphantly for the Holy Spirit Bears. The team took home first place in the PAL Silver Division championship in a spectacular final game. The team worked incredibly hard during the season and the final win was well deserved. The team had only nine people, but still managed to persevere with Tilli Lagrande getting multiple blocks throughout the season and Gabby Constantino and Mackenzie Schiltz getting kills. Not to mention the massive improvements from the seventh graders, Eva Ebbert and Sofia Morales. However, this was the last volleyball season for the eighth-grade girls, making it bittersweet. Many of these girls have been playing since fifth grade and have spent their fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade years looking up to the eighth graders. 

I started by asking three girls from the winning team about their season. My first question was asking what they thought about their season. Mackenzie Schiltz began by saying, “It was good but bittersweet. “As I’d said, this season was bittersweet for the eighth graders since it was their last season. Gabby Constantino replied, “It was fun and I enjoyed playing with my teammates.” Many of the players would agree with Gabby for sure. Lastly, Tilli Lagrande responded by saying, “It was good, but I was disappointed in some games.” I asked Tilli why she was disappointed and she answered, “I was disappointed because I wished I played better.” The season was filled with ups and downs, but eventually, the team came together and prevailed. 

Those same girls were asked if they enjoyed their volleyball season. For starters, Tilli Lagrande said, “I did. I enjoyed my season very much.” All of the volleyball players would agree. “Yes. It was sentimental. It was sentimental because I’ve been playing volleyball since fifth grade and this is my last year. When I first started I always looked up to the 8th graders.” Mackenzie Schiltz replied, exactly as I had said before. Gabby Constantino answered saying, “Yes, I did. I liked the coaches and I got a lot of playing time.” Even if the red team hadn’t won the championships, I think they all would’ve had the same reply because it’s not always about winning. 

I started asking the 3 three girls what their favorite part about the season was. Tilli Lagrande responded saying, “My favorite part was playing with my friends.” While Mackenzie Schiltz replied, “My favorite part of the season was going to the playoffs and winning the championships.” Gabby replied with something similar, saying, “My favorite part of the season was winning the championship.” It seems that winning the championship was the biggest highlight of the season for some. 

For my next question, I asked the girls how they felt during the game point of the championship game. Mackenzie Schiltz replied “I was feeling doubtful. I was worried we were going to get in our heads and lose the point.” I don’t think anyone can blame Mackenzie. I’m sure most of the parents in the stands were anxious too. Tilli Lagrande answered saying, “I was nervous but hopeful we’d win.” Lastly, Gabby Constantino said, “I was nervous, but I had confidence in whoever was serving.” Gabby was right because whoever served helped us win the game. As soon as the red team won the game, the crowd cheered and parents sprung out of their seats, ecstatic. It was a nice way to end the season. 

Lastly, I asked the girls how they felt after winning the championship. Gabby Constantino said, “I felt really happy and proud of our team from how far we’ve come. It was a good way to end the season.” Nobody on the red team could deny Gabby’s words. Mackenzie Schiltz replied, “I felt relieved and over-the-moon-happy.” Finally, Tilli Lagrande said, “I felt very proud of my team.” This 2024 volleyball season was certainly great, after all, they only lost two games. 

All in all, this was a fantastic season for the Holy Spirit volleyball teams. Hopefully, they’ll all continue their volleyball journey into high school. This truly was an outstanding season, not only for the Red team but also for the White team.