MORGANTOWN — The nine seniors in the University volleyball program go way back.
According to senior Anna Tretheway, she’s known her current teammates from early in their youth; volleyball was just another connection in their group.
“We grew up and went to elementary school and middle school together,” she said. “When we all started playing volleyball, it formed another connection, and as we got into high school it just grew from there.”
Senior Layne Assif even counts her teammates among her closest friends. There’s little she enjoys more than spending time with the girls.
“I love the senior group we have this season. We’re best friends and we all hang out,” she said. “On the court and off the court, we’re best friends, and I think that will help us this year.”
Another Hawks senior, Kennedy Meadows, draws a strong connection between her friendship with her teammates and how well they mesh on the court.
“We hang out together outside of volleyball a lot, and I believes that helps on the court with our chemistry,” she said.
Of course, considering the girls have been playing the sport together for six years, they can often predict what their teammates will do during a play before it even happens; it’s just second nature at this point.
“We’re very close this year,” Meadows said. “Most of us have been together since sixth grade. We just know how each other plays, and our setter knows how to get us the ball in the right spots.”
UHS coach Don Godfrey is glad for the connection, as he plans for his large senior class to provide a solid foundation of leadership and experience heading into the fall. His first step has been to pair upperclassman with younger players during practices.
“We like getting the younger girls and older girls working together,” he said. “We try to split them up and have older girls work with younger ones. Each day, the upperclassman will work with a different girl, and help them develop skills while getting to know each other.
“A lot of it is about bonding; having everyone know each other and having everyone on the same page.”
According to Assif, the summer months provide a chance to teach the incoming players about the inner workings of the program and to bring them up to pace on what is expected of a varsity player.
“We have a lot of underclassmen come in and we show them how UHS volleyball works,” she said. “We focus on fundamentals a lot, and that helps prepare us for the start of the season.”
Godfrey’s other focus of the summer is to keep the girls on the court and getting as many touches as possible. He knows just how easy it is for high schoolers to fall off from training during the ever-crucial summer months.
“Mainly, we just want to keep their heads on straight and keep them motivated,” he said. “We want to keep them interested, on track and improving on skills. That’s a big thing.”
Meadows said the atmosphere in the locker room regarding the sessions is solemn and focused. The team knows how big of an impact these past few weeks will have on the season.
“I’d say we take it very seriously. We know how hard we work during the summer will reflect on how we play during the season,” she said. “If we work hard during the three-weeks practices, we should have a jump start on the season come August.”
The Hawks, who finished 23-8 last fall after bowing out of the postseason with a regional semifinal loss, to John Marshall, also made an effort to see live competition outside of intrasquad scrimmages this summer, traveling to Uniontown, Pa., to play in league action.
“I think it’s going to be a big benefit to see competitive action during the summer because we’re going to be a senior-heavy team,” Godfrey said. “We have nine seniors returning, and we want them to get out there and see action.”
Meadows thinks that the game action will give her team a leg up on opponents come the start of the season, as her squad has already gelled in game play.
“I think the summer league helps more than practices to get us ready for game situations,” she said. “The first games were rough, but ever since the third game down there, we started playing like a team and grooving together. The competition is good up there.”
Assif is happy with the effort she has seen from the team this summer. She believes the players are on the same page regarding their ultimate goal: A trip to Charleston to compete for the state title. With everyone dialed in, all that’s left is for the Hawks to put in the work to get there.
“We definitely need to work hard every day and come in with the mind set that today we’re going to get better,” she said. “We’re really excited for this upcoming season — everyone has one mind set and that’s making the state tournament.”
