The Fair Grove High School Junior Varsity (JV) Volleyball teams’ season has come to a close, with a final record of 13-4.
Morgan Roepke has completed her first season of being the JV coach. “I have loved volleyball pretty much all of my life,” she exclaimed, “one of my favorite things about coaching is getting to share my knowledge of the game I love and have invested in for so long.”
The JV team has had ups and downs this season. Roepke explained, “We have a very talented, hardworking group this year on the JV. We have been very successful.”
Harper Green (9) expressed, “I think one of our biggest strengths is the bond that we have on and off the court.”
As there are strengths, there are weaknesses too. Andie Evans (9) said, “Something we struggle with is keeping our lead until the end.”
Roepke added, “One struggle we have had is changing the lineup mid-season because of injuries. However, the girls have adjusted well and we have all grown!”
Roepke also walked through a typical practice, “For practice, all three teams start practicing together and we warm up, stretch and work on ball handling skills. We do different drills each day and make sure that each girl does all of the skills everyday, even if they don’t use those skills a lot in a game.”
Evans went on, “(We) work on serving, passing, and hitting. We work heavily on defense and devote a lot of time to serve and receive.”
In the midst of practices and games, the JV team has been working together to reach different goals. “A goal we have is to beat most of the teams in our conference,” Green explained, “to reach that goal we have been working super hard and focusing on every game.”
Some of the team members have their own personal goals they are aiming to meet as well. Evans expressed, “My personal goal is to have a better connection with my hitters and improve my hands when I set.”
Green stated, “A goal I have for this year in volleyball is to improve my serve and work on having good accuracy for my serve.”
To reach personal and team goals, teamwork is important to the players. Green continued, “One of my favorite things about volleyball is the team aspect. Teammates are great at encouraging you after a bad play and it makes me feel a lot better.”
