Lady Viking Volleyball is up and running. They began the season with a couple close games, which the team lost. This year, Orcas High welcomed two new coaches, plus the return of assistant coach, Hank Date, a.k.a. “Hank the Tank.” The new head coach and teacher, Rebekah Hardee, has been working hard this year with new members of the team. The new coach of the JV team is Janna Carter. They will be starting off with a young varsity team comprised of only eight players.
There they are … / Photo credit: Melanie Flint
Joining us this year are a few new players to the team: Parker Landsman, Rebecca Cant, and Sandra Rost. Co-captain of the team, Lily Ater, says: “We have a team full of strong players with a lot of potential.” On October 2, the team traveled to Concrete; scores of the Varsity games were 27-29 in the first match, 23-25 in the second match, a win for the Vikings in the third with 25-13, and in the final match Concrete won with 21-25. There’s nowhere to go but up for the Lady Vikings, as they’ve had many close games and continue to work on their skills as a team. A home game against Cedar Park Christian resulted in a Viking win. The scores of the games were 24-26 in the first match, 25-12 in the second match, 25-19 in the third, and 25-13 in the fourth. Bethany Hansen had 8 aces, 5 digs, 9 kills; Lily Ater had 5 kills; Katie Minnis had 1 ace, 5 digs, 1 assist, 1 kill; Emily Nichols had 1 dig, 4 kills, 1 block; Anneke Ivans had 4 kills; Parker Landsman had 4 aces, 9 assists, 1 kill; Jessie Nichols had 5 aces, 1 dig, 6 assists, 5 kills; Lilly Miller had 4 aces, 1 dig.
Upon being asked what it’s like coming to a new school and working with new kids and parents, Coach Rebekah replied that she “love[s] it.” “I love meeting all the new kids and working with new players that have different experiences than what I’m used to, it’s been fun.” The biggest struggle Hardee has faced is “all the traveling you guys have to do. I will never complain about driving 40 minutes to another school again. And all the school you guys miss, just managing that piece towards the end of the season is so different and can be challenging.” On being both a teacher and a coach, Hardee replied: “I love it, it seems like something you guys aren’t used to, but I think the relationship you get to build with kids is great. There is a new extension of learning you get to do, because you do get to see them in the classroom during the day. That was my goal, to be here during the day and also coach.”