Third-year player, Ella Cammon, wins her 3rd hustle award of her high school career.
On November 4th the Flora Wolfgals Volleyball Team held their annual awards banquet in the high school commons.
FairBarn Catering catered their night meal, which consisted of pulled pork, dumplings, mac n’ cheese, cherry delight, and more. “It was delicious, and no one went away hungry,” says the volleyball team’s head coach Jim Earleywine.
The Wolfgals started their season with 38 girls, including two exchange students, Maria Diaz Lopez and Gulia Sciarra.
On Monday night, the team recognized the girls with 10 different awards from multiple categories.
The first award is the Attitude Award, given to the person who demonstrates the proper team attitude. Sophie Scarbrough, a departing senior, received this award.
Earleywine shares that Scarbrough always had kind words and a positive attitude even if she was having a bad day. “She embraced the motto I like to share with all my teams; ‘Attitude is Everything.’”
The next award is the Hustle Award, awarded to the person who gives 100% at all times. This award was awarded to Ella Cammon, a Wolfgals setter, for the third year in a row.
“No other player has demonstrated more hustle than her.” Earleywine reflects on Cammon’s hustle throughout the season.
The third award, the most improved award, is given to the player with the most improvement in their skills. Kennedy Zimmerman, a freshman, was presented with this award.
Zimmerman started her freshman season by playing as a left-side defender before being moved to setter. “She quickly learned the position, which is not easy, and improved her setting skills,” Earleywine adds.
The fourth award of the night was the Rookie of the Year, given to a first-year player who achieved the most in their rookie season. Abby Dickey, a freshman, received this award.
Dickey was the only freshman to earn a varsity position, stepping up when a star player was injured. “Abby worked hard to earn her varsity jersey and worked hard to keep it,” Earlywine claims.
The last awards of the night were statistic-based, meaning they were taken straight from their game data.
Earleywine has fun with these awards, discarding the normal plaques and trophies and opting for objects that represent the award.
The fifth award, the first statisticized award, is the Most Kills award. This award is given to the player who had earned the most kills in the season, which happened to be sophomore Josie Lewis.
Lewis was awarded a large hammer as her ‘trophy.’ “When a hitter is good at their position, they are often referred to as putting the hammer on the ball.” Earleywine shares.
The sixth award, 2nd most kills, was awarded to Ella Cammon who had 1 less kill than Lewis. She was awarded a smaller hammer.
The seventh award, Most Ace Serves, was given to Gracie Lewis for the most ace serves. She was awarded a set of Ace playing cards.
Ella Cammon, earning her third and last award of the season, earned the Best Server award. Cammon had the best overall serve percentage, missing only 2 serves all season. A volleyball on a platter signified her trophy.
Another parting senior, Ava Darrough, received the eighth award for making the most digs and defensive plays against the opponent’s attacks. Darrough received a shovel to represent her trophy.
The final award of the season was given to varsity player, Avrie Persinger. She received the award of a bunch of children’s wooden alphabet blocks for the most blocks.
The volleyball team is saying goodbye to five seniors this 2024 season, but the younger girls are ready to step up to the plate. “We will have a lot of experience returning next season.” shares Earleywine.
According to Earleywine, the future of Flora Volleyball looks bright as they start the learning and playing experience at a younger age, allowing for more time to learn and improve.
