The volleyball teams are back in action! Over the summer, the Galena High School Freshman, JV, and Varsity teams spent many nights and early mornings in the gym preparing for the soon-approaching season.
The teams had open gyms Monday and Wednesday nights, along with workout training on Mondays and Thursdays. During that time they would do drills, scrimmage, and work on many things to improve their game. One of their largest focuses for the varsity team has been defense. “There are many key points when it comes to defense; repetition with core players, being in the correct position at the right time, and making sure the team is working together,” said Coach Dennis Wills. “We really look at tweaking the little things, so we can build a top defensive team.”
Last year's devastating loss in the Sectional Championship has created all the more drive to get better. “This year we want to come back stronger than ever,” said Gracie Furlong ‘25. “As a team, we are willing to put in a lot of hard work!”
Once the busy summer schedule came to an end, the girls had a week off to prepare for official practices to start. The first volleyball practice was held on Monday, August 8. Initial practices consisted of mainly conditioning and minimal volleyball. “Conditioning helps us the most, further down the road,” said Paeton Hyde ‘23. “The big games are tiring, but when we spend time working on optimizing our performance, it really makes those games easier.” Conditioning lasted for two days before the teams went back to strictly volleyball practice.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2022 volleyball season. The Pirates will play at home on Tuesday, September 6. They will play Stockton - action starts at 5:00 with the freshman team.