Over the summer some student athletes that enjoy volleyball made the decision to try out for the school team. Between JV and varsity several students can say that they are part of the Palm Harbor University volleyball team. In the past months that we have attended school these volleyball athletes have been practicing after school getting ready for upcoming games.

On the 5th of October the JV team took home a win against the Osceola Warriors. This game was a pink out, representing and raising awareness for breast cancer. Although the season is not yet over and still having months to go, the girls have started to bond and overall, they are looking at a good season ahead.

The team has been together since the beginning of the year and every team has their strengths and weakness. Lydia Morris (26’) on the JV team shares her inside scoop on the team and the performance.

“I’ve played on teams in school and outside of school and the main difference I see going from middle school to high school volleyball is that the team as a whole is so much more intense and determined about the sport,” Morris said.

A transfer from middle school to high school sports is very different, it is obvious that high school is so much more competitive, and students are more excited to play.

“Many students during middle school just picked up volleyball so that they could say that they played on the team, they didn’t really have any future knowledge on the sport. Now that I’m in high school making the team is so much harder but it is capable to do if you really love the sport,” Morris said.

So far, the volleyball teams have been playing very well bringing home several victories.

“I feel like every team has their strengths and weaknesses, both varsity and JV have outstanding players that are capable of doing incredible things in the future. The main thing that I believe brings our team to these wins is the ability to work so well together. We are all totally different people, but we all share one thing in common which is volleyball. Our team works incredibly well together, more than I would imagine,” Morris said.

Most players on the team play on outside leagues and several volleyball players were asked how the high school team is different from their travel leagues.

“Most teams take weeks or even months to come together as a whole and create the bond that we have already made within this past month of knowing each other. Were all the same people, we attend school and play volleyball and the most of us want to take that to college, so we all work together to get to our dream goals,” Marion Bateol (25’)

A player vs. viewer perspective are two totally different views, a player has so much more insight than a viewer of the sport, but a viewer often picks up more things than a player might on the court. Megan Morris, a mom of JV volleyball player Lydia Morris, shares her perspective on what the game looks like from the stands.

“Although my daughter has been playing for years, I don’t truly understand all of volleyball like others do but watching from above rather than being in the moment on the court is definitely a different thought process,” Mrs. Morris said

Many players have their parents go to games and watch them while some moms help the team out by running the concession stands, helping with entry tickets or more.