After four years of mornings spent practicing and evenings spent playing, seniors finished their last ever volleyball season on Oct. 21.
“When I walked off the court for the last time, I felt kind of bittersweet,” senior Chloe Stewart said. “I was sad, but also really grateful for all the love and support that I’ve gotten from my family and friends. I’m sad that it’s over, but at the same time I had a lot of fun.”
Senior Emily Vacek noted that good advice to incoming freshmen wanting to play volleyball at McNeil would be to keep persevering.
“Just work hard, even when it gets hard physically and mentally, because it’ll be worth it in the end,” Vacek said. “You have to accept that there are going to be games that you know you’re not going to win. All you can do is try your best.”
Stewart noted that in addition to learning volleyball itself, she also learned many mental aspects of the game.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned from playing volleyball is to be patient with myself,” Stewart said. “I learned that good things take longer to happen, but if you keep working at it, it’ll get easier.”
When explaining her future volleyball plans, senior Karis Cosby isn’t sure if she’ll ever step foot on the volleyball court again.
“I don’t know if I’m ever gonna play again, or if that was the last time,” Cosby said. “If it is, I won’t be mad because I worked hard, did my best and put everything I had on the court that night. I liked volleyball because it lets me be a different part of myself. On the court, I’m more authoritative and I take initiative. But in real life, I’m a lot quieter. Volleyball allows me to be myself and be competitive, just in a different way.”
Stewart explained that what she would miss most about volleyball was that it allowed her to express herself and make an impact on the program.
“Volleyball gave me an outlet from my life outside of sports to really have fun and express my feelings in a different way,” Stewart said. “It was a good way for me to meet people and make friends. I hope that I left an impact of being a good teammate and instilling resilience and confidence in other people when they’re playing.¨
