Taylor Garcia
Student Sports Media
The Butler Grizzlies volleyball team is striving to be better this season. The coaches and the teammates all agree that if they have a loss, usually a tough battle. They are always willing to go down with a fight no matter what, as in when they played Barton volleyball. They won (25-20, 21-25, 25-11, 25-23) in their home opener.
Brooke Fender, a sophomore on the team, is a real leader, and strives to be the best. Fender usually has leading kills for games.
Freshman Claudia Hess, from Abilene, also puts up good leading skills for games, followed by another strong hitter, sophomore Aliyah Bernard from Wichita.
Fender has a huge role on the team.
“The excitement, playing aggressive and not giving up…” Fender said.
She continues to help lead the team and strive for them to be great. On the court, you can tell she wants victory. She motivates her team and helps them as much as possible. Being a leader takes time and patience, willing to take a stand and help out. Butler’s volleyball program is full of athletes who want to win and never go down without a fight.
“We’re thankful to play consistent,” Coach Rick Younger said.
Sports are all about being able to play as a team as one. Those who push to play great together tend to take more wins. Volleyball is all about being able to trust your teammates to get there when you need them to, and to do their jobs on the court. Team bonding is a good factor to have, and Butler’s volleyball succeeds well at it. During warm-ups for the games, the women always motivate each other, and hype each other up. Warm-ups can say a lot about how a team will play it sets the mood of the game.
Fender holds her head high for the women on the team. She keeps them up when they start to head downhill, and she stays focused on the game and the way the team is playing, a huge leader.
The team continues to fight all the way until the very last point they do not give up. They will not go down without a fight for the ball.
You can see the passion they all have in the sport by the way they play on the court. They never fail to communicate on the court and help each other know what is going on with the ball, and where players are supposed to be at.
They all have a great outlook on the ball and the game. Fender succeeds in being a great team player. She is well known for being a star player for the team. Her stats show it usually every game, she fights hard for wins and does not go down easy with loss. The team continues to put their all into the court and strive for a great outcome.
They play incredibly on the court, and they always can count on their teammates to be there if they need any help on the court. The communication they have to keep everything in line and understanding what the ball or the opponents are doing is great.
Fender is a big leader, but also Hess is, knowing she is only a freshmen. Hess really stands out for the team.
“It’s all about playing the ball and being excited,” Hess said.
She has a big role in keeping everyone motivated to keep fighting for victory. She continues to be energetic and happy to keep everyone else the same way.
When times get hard and they get down, she still tries to keep them going and the excitement level high for the team.
This is a team sport. One person could not just go out and play this game alone. Butler is great at showing that it is all about the whole team, and not just a single player. Teamwork and communication is the strongest suit, and they continue to use that. Butler Grizzly’s volleyball can be a success with all the excitement the players have.