Central High Volleyball, a way overlooked sport, played by one of the most underrated teams lead by coach Thorn is something that shouldn’t just be pushed to the side. With a season consisting of 36 plus games and 4 tournaments plus districts our varsity eagles went 19-17. Volleyball is nothing without teamwork and it shines bright in our eagles. When you watch the team take the court there’s nothing but support from each other, with the team slogan being, “be weird” they encourage each other to be themselves on and off the court building strong relationships with each other that translates to their teamwork and performance on the court. From the unique handshakes between the players to the choregraphed cheers and celebrations, they keep the support fun and strong and it obviously shown when you watch them play, but still putting in maximum effort to get the outcome they need.
Our varsity team consists of 5 seniors, including senior, Laura Timmins. Standing at 5’9 Laura starts up front on the right ride. With great athleticism and height on her side, if its being set up for spikes or blocking the others, she finds herself involved in almost every play. Due to her hard work, and finishing 8th in class A for blocks, toward the end of the season she drew the attention of multiple coaches, such and continues to look at schools such as South East community college and Peru state. Starting this year rocky, unsure if she even wanted to play, it would be a decision she wouldn’t regret as she grew to become a favorite on the team, and “a type of teammate everyone would want” as coach Thorn describes it.
At the end of the day, it’s a team sport and there’s not really such thing as a specific, key player or MVP, everyone’s important and puts in their part. “Everyone pushed each other for the best outcome every game” Laura stated, calling this season “the best season we ever had in a long time” not referring to the total wins or trophies they took home, but the “best season” referring to the team building, relationships, and pride built over the season, pushing, encouraging, and helping each other not just to become better players, but become better people, better eagles. Coach thorn who has been the varsity coach for 12 years called it her “favorite season”. The senior girls will be missed next season but the team spirit, pride, and hard work will still be there.