Volleyball team gains confidence with tournament victory

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Keera Frye in Sports // 0 Comments

The Southmoreland varsity girls volleyball team won the first place trophy at West Greene’s varsity volleyball tournament on Sept. 10. After losing all of their section games last season and being without seniors, this accomplishment brightened the team’s ideas for the upcoming season.

“It meant everything to me and my team to win,” said junior co-captain Alli Sherbondy. “A lot of people think we’re terrible because we had a rough season last year and we don’t have any seniors, but this shows what we can do when we work together. I’m very proud of us.”

Southmoreland Varsity Girls' Volleyball Team at West Greene Tournament

Southmoreland girls varsity volleyball team at the West Greene Tournament

After the tournament, Steak ‘N Shake was filled with the excited giggles of members of the volleyball team as they passed their trophy around the table.

“We wanted that trophy to go everywhere with us,” said junior outside hitter Carissa Cyphert. “We were just so excited about winning because we worked so hard for it and it gave us confidence as we began our sectional games.”

Players admitted that they weren’t expecting to perform as well as they did at the tournament, but the win was a bout of confidence and reassurance. The team’s other junior co-captain, Brooke Corley, believes that sharing this experience at the tournament has brought them “closer together as a team” and showed them that they can “play insync.”

“That tournament is something that I’ll definitely remember, but it won’t be because of the first place trophy or the MVP award,” said sophomore libero Tessa Hamborsky. “I’ll remember all of the memories made with the girls on and off the court.”

MVP Award Recipients: Tessa Hamborsky, Allison Sherbondy, Brooke Corley, and Justyyne Howell (left to right)

In addition to the first place trophy, the Lady Scotties brought home four MVP trophies. During the quarterfinals, each team’s coach would select a member of the opposing team to present with an MVP award for their performance in that match. Hamborsky and Corley received MVP awards after winning their quarterfinal matches against Freedom and Beth Center. Sherbondy and Justyne Howell, sophomore, were both chosen to receive MVP awards in the Scotties final match.

The volleyball team took on Carlynton in the finals and secured first place by winning the first two games in the set of three. With this memorable win under their belt, the girls hope to continue “playing as a unit” to succeed this season.