An unreturnable serve resulting in an ace by junior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Childers in the 2nd set put FHC up 13-8 against Greenville; the lead would be maintained throughout the remainder of the match as FHC swept the Yellowjackets 3-0.
The Lady Rangers played a solid first set. They scored the first point of the game after a combined block by senior middle-hitter Maggie Sneider and senior right-side hitter Mila Kavara.
While they were able to build a substantial lead, there was an evident lack of energy on the court and some minor mistakes.
Senior setter Kadence Roelfzema accepted these errors and found a way to improve communication with her teammates.
“We were just having to deal with a new lineup and people playing in positions they haven’t played before,” Roelfzema said. We just focused on making sure everyone knew where they were on the court and trusting each other. “
FHC would finish the first set, winning 25-12, led by junior outside hitter Meredith Bethea, who contributed many kills.
The second set was an early game of back-and-forth points; however, the Rangers would once again come out on top, winning 25-10. A fair amount of spontaneous tricks accompanied the win plays that the Rangers used to stop the Yellowjackets.
“Most of the time when myself or my team is in the game, we don’t think about what we’re doing,” Roelfzema said. “It’s more spur of the moment, but we do practice it.”
By the time the third set rolled around, the lack of energy that existed in the first set was gone entirely. The Lady Rangers, however, were once again stuck in a series of back-and-forth points.
Senior outside hitter Avery Weslow knows this isn’t uncommon for her team but finds a way to keep them mentally in it.
“Something our team struggles with is letting up when we’re up by a lot of points because we’re like, ‘Oh, we already won the game, it’s fine,’ Weslow said. “I say [to my team], ‘We’ve got to lock in, we’ve got to stay focused on what we want, which is a win’. We can’t just let a team who does not perform as well, like Greenville, affect how we play.”
There were times in the middle of the tough set when FHC would pull ahead, but Greenville would quickly retaliate and tie. After an ace by Roelfzema near the end of the set, the Lady Rangers would control the lead for good and beat the Yellowjackets in the third set 25-21.
Not only was the win important, but so was the game. It just so happened that it was senior night, and the team was celebrating its six seniors: defensive specialist TZ Cumbo-Nacheli, middle-hitter Elena Kavanagh, Kavara, Roelfzema, Sneider, and Weslow.
After the win against Greenville, Avery reflected on her final home game.
“It’s definitely very sad, but it’s honestly also exciting,” Weslow said. “It’s kind of like a new chapter. We’ve just completed four successful years of volleyball, so it’s kind of bittersweet.”
For head coach Natalie Roelfzema, senior night is always a special night, but even more so this year as her daughter— and player— is a senior.
“I’ve coached at Forest Hills for the last seventeen years, so I think every senior night is emotional as a coach just because you work with athletes from their freshman year to their senior year, “ Roelfzema said. “The difference is it’s my child, so it’s just surreal and kind of bittersweet. Most parents don’t get to say that they get to coach their kid, so I feel I get to see a different perspective because I also get to coach, but I also kind of get to be more in the action of when she’s playing. I just feel very grateful to be a part of her senior night as a coach, but also on a personal level. “
Senior night is the last regular-season game senior athletes play at FHC. Roelfzema had some sentimental words for her six seniors who were honored before the game.
“High school is just a small snippet of your day-to-day life, but it’s also an area where athletes are very vulnerable, and there’s a lot that young women go through. My advice would be to learn from experiences, grow from them, learn from mistakes, grow from them, but also just have grace,” Roelfzema said. “People are going to make mistakes, but if we’re not willing to forgive or move forward and then learn from those mistakes, even for ourselves. In the grand scheme of life, we’re just going to be stuck in the constant negativity and constant mistakes. “
