LETS MEET THE VOLLEY SAINTS

The Varsity squad is made up of eight players, beginning with senior Gracy Martin, juniors Baylee Pogue, Addy Peek, and Katie Holland, sophomores Kynlee Glass and Silbi Jones, and freshmen Heaven Garcia and Laila Santifer. Gracy is a returning starter from last years team and you will find her this season all over the court, as she is a plus-player whether its front row or back row. Great setter, high IQ, great around the net, her serves are really impressive, and she is now tasked with the role of being the oldest/most veteran player on the team. Baylee Pogue played a lot last season and will continue that trend this season. Pogue has really worked hard this summer and offseason, so look for Baylee to help lead this team to the next level and she has also greatly improved her skill-set. Silbi Jones is also returning from last seasons’ team, where she saw some big minutes on the front row last season on varsity as a freshman. Silbi has a lot of talent and has shown flashes of great IQ, as she is a very intelligent player, especially around the net. Look for Jones to control the net each night, as her height is definitely going to be an advantage for GMCS. Junior Addy Peek will also be a player to keep your eye on this season, as she has worked extremely hard this summer and will get a big workload this season. Peek has great passing skills and is working hard around the net to try and find different ways to help her team succeed. “I’ve been working a lot on passing and especially my hitting, as they will have me playing middle this season,” Addy added as she spoke on media days about the team and what she has tried to improve on the most this season. Another junior that will be getting a lot of playing time this year is Katie Holland. Katie has really emerged this summer as a player that will help this team win a lot of games. Holland has improved on her sets and passing and will be a weapon this year for GMCS. The next player we’re going to get to know is the player that might dive and hit the floor a half million times this season, sophomore Kynlee Glass. Kynlee is the player that will give her all no matter if the score is a 1-point game or a blowout. Glass has one gear, “all gas and no brakes.” Kynlee should prove to be a difference maker on the court this season, as she has really emerged this summer as a player that can do everything on the floor. Kynlee also spoke on media days this past week about this groups’ chemistry, “We’ve grown a lot this summer, especially our chemistry, we know we need to keep improving as a group. My favorite thing about this team is that we’re funny and a fun group, we really like being around each other.” Next up for the Volley Saints are the two freshmen of the team, Heaven Garcia and Laila Santifer. If you’ve kept up with Lady Saints sports on SWARK.Today over the past year or so, then you’ve probably heard or read about these two at some point. Garcia and Santifer helped lead the Jr. Volleyball Team to a State Championship last season, they also helped lead the Jr. basketball team to the state championship game. These two are very athletic and skilled players, that will bring a level of grittiness to this group. Heaven spoke at media days about the team, “We’ve all bonded together this summer, I like this group and we’re just a fun team and we just really enjoy being around each other.” Garcia is a very talented hard-worker and will more than likely get the nod to be the libero this year. Santifer is a very talented player and her work ethic is next level. Laila spoke on the difference in adjusting from the Jr. High level to the Varsity level, “One of the biggest differences is the pace of play, and also the importance of taking advantage of opportunities and not wasting possessions. We know we have to continue to work hard and get better if we want to reach our goals this season.” With half of the team being freshmen and sophomores, the future seems to be bright for the GMCS Volley Saints and Silbi Jones spoke on the two freshman and her classmate Kynlee Glass on media days on how they’ve impressed her this summer, “There hustle and how much they want to be on the court, they have a lot of heart for the sport and it’s really a joy to see and I am excited to see how this season goes and the next couple of years too as we have a good thing going here in this program.” This is going to be an exciting group to keep up with this season, as the sky is the limit when once they gel as a unit. 

THE SEASON RUNDOWN

The goal of this group is to grow and continue to gain chemistry, but at the end of the day everyone at media days still insists on competing for a State Championship. Gracy Martin talked about her goals for the season, “We have a lot of work to do to get where we wanna be, but I am excited to see this all come together, it’s different being the oldest on the team, as I have always been the youngest in the group playing with the seniors from last season my entire high school career, but I believe we’re ready for the challenge this season.” The Volley Saints will have a tough schedule this year, as they will play 22 regular season games and two tournaments between Aug. 12 – Oct. 4. State Tourney is set for October 8-12. “We are starting out with some tough games the first couple of weeks, with ACA, Gospel Light, and Taylor all in the first two weeks,” Coach Courtney Rook said as she spoke on the strength of their schedule, especially for a young team. 

This season is set to start on August 12th as the Volley Saints are excited to get this season rolling, as they travel to Saline Co. to for their season opener. Tune in to SWARK.Today throughout the season to keep up with the Lady Saints this season. 

JV Team

The GMCS JV team will have a very talented roster, as they are made up of Madison Faulkner, Natalee Chunn, Kylie Bullock, Miley Loe, Brailyn Almand, Savannah Fields, and Raylee Adkison. Almand, Fields, and Adkison are coming off a state championship run last season for the Jr. Team, and they will look to carry that winning style of play in the JV level this season. Madison will look to be a leader for the team, Natalee and Miley will be right in the mix for a lot of playing time. Newcomer Kylie Bullock will see some time on the floor and then a talented freshmen class will round out the team. There is a good amount of experience with this unit, and they should be a fun team to keep up with this upcoming season. Each of these players all bring something to the table and the coaches are looking forward to this group putting everything together.