By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity volleyball team is still bringing the energy like it usually does, but the only wins have come in non-conference tournament games against teams like Manchester and Kalamazoo Central. The team has yet to win a Wolverine Conference game. It’s safe to say it’s experiencing a few growing pains.
“We’re actually not that young, but we don’t have a lot of previous varsity players,” Head Coach Katrina Miller said after the Bulldogs lost in three straight sets to Niles. “We have girls that were on varsity last year but didn’t get a lot of playing time.”
The Bulldogs had a few points runs thanks to some great serving by Brooke Flintrop and Karyna Lewis. Unfortunately, the runs were short-lived as Vicksburg struggled to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard up front.
“We have a lot of energy and we’re working hard, but we just don’t quite have the size this year,” Miller said.
While the team scrambles – and they dig the ball well – that lack of size is making things problematic for blocking kill attempts from the other team up front, a growing pain they will have to learn to live with as the season goes on. Miller says they will continue working on it as the season progresses. She credited her team for not giving up.
“I’m proud of the girls. We lost to Edwardsburg last week, we lost to Niles tonight, but they just keep working hard. They just give me everything they can, even if they lose.”