If you’ve ever seen the Andale volleyball team play, then you know they have a special thing going. Here at Andale the tradition is winning, and the volleyball team helps prove that. Anybody that has never been to a volleyball game might say that football is our only fall sport worth watching but that is simply not true. In 2021 the volleyball team won their first ever state title. The team came back from an 11 to 4 deficit. As the student section chanted “Never ring the bell!”, we won our very first title. This helped set the tone for the remaining years for all the girls on that roster. This motivated the younger girls to work as hard as they can so they can bring home a second title after feeling the joy of winning that state title.
When asking Ms. Bergkamp who a few key players returning from last year’s team she says, “Grace Rowland and Hayden Grimes”. These two players were big factors in last year’s season. When it comes to leadership these are the senior leaders for this year’s squad. (Grace Rowland, Piper Camp, Jojo Cutler, Regan Neely, Caelyn Haines, Kate Wegerer, Eva Preister). She says that this year’s group of seniors has done an excellent job of setting the right example so that this great tradition can carry on. “They’ve done the behind the scenes work and are committed to improving our program and players everyday.” At the end of the day, every team needs good leaders and this team clearly has a great group of seniors ready to win another state title!
This upcoming season, the girls have their first game on August 29, 2023. That day officially starts a new campaign and run at the title. They play McPherson and Winfield to kick off the season.
Every year Coach Bergkamp comes up with a team motto. The players try to guess this motto and what it means. This year’s motto is “BBBWNU?” (Brick By Brick Why Not Us). When asking coach why she picked this motto she says, “It was Nebraska’s volleyball team’s motto when they were doubted by everyone”. The girls love the excitement of this every year and it should be a great tradition for many more years to come.
In conclusion, we should have a very exciting team to watch this year and cheer on as they chase another state title!
