Ripon High Girls volleyball played East Union on Wednesday Aug, 28. The lady Indians took the victory with the final score as 25-12, 25-23, and 23-17 in the last set. Senior Shayla McKeon, and sophomore Alayna Sprinkle, agree that the key part to volleyball is keeping a high mindset and mentality throughout the game. Shayla McKeon has been playing volleyball for 6 years as an outside hitter. She has played for the club Pulse for the past 5 years, but plans to switch to Rage Volleyball Club this season.
“The biggest challenge is your own mentality. At the end of the day volleyball is a mental game and if you don’t have the right mental state, it’s hard to get the job done,” McKeon says. Varsity girls volleyball has been thriving this start of the season, and they’re excited to play together in their first league game against Pittman on Thursday, Sept. 5. As volleyball is a team sport, the varsity is happy to see their team doing so well at such an early start in the season. Sophomore Alayna sprinkle has been playing volleyball for 8 years and plays for the varsity team as a defensive specialist.
Sprinkle says, “I think our season is going really well so far and I’m super excited to see how our season goes.” Varsity girls have been specifically working on serving and serve receive during their practices. Lately they have been practicing with a serving machine. As they keep practicing specific techniques to help perform well during games, they also have been working on the mental side of keeping their heads in the game during practices and games, because, “How you practice is how you play,” says Sprinkle. As varsity volleyball’s season has started on a good note, the girls will continue to do their jobs on the court and work together as a team.
Mckeon says, “The most important thing is definitely the connection on the court because at the end of the day there are 6 girls on the court and not 1, so if we don’t play like a team, we won’t be capable of anything.” Girls volleyball will be having an amazing season this year, so make sure to support the Lady Indians in the student section this season!
