The Herrin Tigers Volleyball team had a great past season including many games won and accolades achieved. 

When it comes to team sports, a connection between players is essential to be successful, and Saylor Ray (11) stated that she “wished the team connected sooner.” Even with the initial connection struggle, the girls were able to finish the year off with a 15 to 10 win streak for Varsity.

As the season went on, the girls started to connect and think as a team more, and they began winning amazing games. The girls themselves have had a fun-filled year of continuing their passion for volleyball while making friends along the way. 

Harley Summers (10) recalls how she likes Varsity practices, because “everyone is really into the practices.” She also mentions how important it is for her to “practice with the pink volleyball” for a successful practice and game. 

Josie Brandon (9) also has her own routine of praying and staying positive before each game, so she can do well during matches. While the nerves of being a freshman on both the JV and Varsity teams are high, she believes can do anything when she keeps up this routine. 

After hours of daily practice and intense training, the ladies were ready for anything. A prominent game for the team was against Murphysboro.. 

Ray and Brandon both mentioned how playing against Murphy was their favorite game; the tense environment kept them on their toes and motivated them to eventually win the game. 

Karli Mann, a phenomenal outside hitter, has been playing high school volleyball all four years along with club volleyball outside of school. After considering multiple options that she was offered, she was recruited to play volleyball for Eastern Illinois University, a well-known D1 school. 

Mann feels “really good about [being recruited]” after working so hard. “It was really exciting to be able to say yes.”

With this year’s volleyball season coming to a close, the Lady Tigers’ hard work pushed them to advance to regionals in Mt. Vernon on October 26th. 

They won the first round of regionals against Mt. Vernon Rams but, sadly, lost in the second round to Mascoutah. However, the ladies still achieved many other impressive achievements, like their 4-3 winning streak for conference.