The Whitewater Volleyball Team hosted Jefferson on “Play for Trey” Night on Tuesday, October 3, and swept them in three straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-17).
Play for Trey was an event started by former Whippet volleyball player Gina (Hollingshead) Serna in 2010, after Treyton was killed by a drunk driver following a volleyball match in East Troy. Coach Mary Kilar stated, “This team has never let his memory die. The team continues to honor his memory in collaboration with the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group from the high school. Talking about destructive decisions and their impact is something we should all be doing, especially with our young people. One bad choice can lead to significant consequences, and in this case, a death of a young boy at a mere 7 years old. Our volleyball team recommits each year to understanding our impact, and striving to make a positive one.”
And, tonight, we played some of the best volleyball on the season. “I felt we started and finished aggressively on both offense and defense. We saw great leadership, energy, and ‘finish mentality’ from our whole crew tonight! Icing on the cake was Calli Grosinske, Junior, surpassing 1000 assists on the night! “I was so happy for Calli, she works hard and is seeing the court so well. I was excited for her, what a great accomplishment, and only a junior. She is just getting started! And, she finished with another double-double, 11 kills, 11 digs, and 1 ace. She is understanding how to read the opponent, and found many of her kills simply by seeing the court!
As a team, we again saw great, consistent play from our Middles, Meg Roselle and Manny Mbifi. “They are beginning to read hitters and get hands on a ton of balls for us. Their blocking and net play has improved all season”. Meg finished with 1 kill, 1 dig, and 1 block, and Manny finished with 4 kills and 1 block.
Falyn Krahn and Sydney Schilt put up some nice offensive points for us. Falyn finished with 7 kills, 2 aces, and 9 digs. Sydney finished with a kill and a dig. Ava Alvarado finished with 2 digs and is leading with her communication in the middle back position. Zoe Kohl has been consistent for us behind the serving line and finished with 3 aces and 6 digs. “I was so happy to see Zoe continue to serve aggressively. She is scoring some much-needed points for us!”
Ella Spear had a night as libero tonight! She read the hitters and led through her communication and play. She ended with 20 digs and an ace! “Ella strives to lead this team, and she does this day in and day out. She works just as hard in practice as she does in matches. She is a true leader.”
Savannah O’Neil plays a dual role for us as Libero on JV1 and serving specialist for Varsity. She is so consistent with her serve and grabbed one dig on the night.
Marina Linos really stepped up her serving and aggressive play at the net. She was blocking and scoring for us! She had one of her best matches for us and finished with 1 kill, 4 aces, 17 assists, 9 digs, and a block! “Marina knows this game so well. It was fun to see her put it together and lead us to a sweep!”
Next up the Whippets travel to Fall River with the JV1 and Varsity squads on Thursday, October 5.
Article Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org
Action Photo Courtesy of Bob and Peter Mischka
