The Prairie Falcons volleyball team sat at a 3-1 record last week and head coach Jen Palmer hopes to build on the team’s winning streak.
Palmer said the team is made up of a great group of kids this year.
“They are just having fun and they work hard,” she said. “We’ve had a really great start to the season.”
To open the season, the Falcons took on Kelso, which excited Prairie since they struggled against them in the past. Prairie came away with a 3-1 win, according to maxpreps.com.
“Our team was really looking forward to the opportunity and we played a really great game,” Palmer said. “We were excited. We had a great student section.”
Palmer said the team had a good game plan and system in place. They were able to execute their strategy well. After losing one set to Kelso, the team used it as motivation to do better, which helped them secure the victory.
Last season, she said the team reached third in the league tournament.
“We recognize that we have just a lot of really great talent on our team, and we have high hopes for the season, and we set some goals that will keep us working hard and seeing what we can do this season,” she said.
Palmer said the team has a “deep bench” this year with a 14-girl roster, which is two more than last year.
“At tryouts, we just really felt like we had 14 varsity-ready kids and that all 14 deserved that opportunity to be on varsity and to work every day to try to earn court time,” Palmer said.
One new player she highlighted is freshman Addie Cameron, who has “natural athleticism” and is described as “a terminator.”
An experienced player she highlighted is senior Ella Conklin, who Palmer said is “completely dynamic in every area on the court that she is on.” Conklin serves as a steady blocker for the team.
Then there’s Emelynn Cecil, a junior serve receiver who Palmer said “adds a ton of energy and lightheartedness, and playfulness and fun” to the team. Cecil is a strong “competitor and a coachable kid.”
Another senior, Emma Eterno, was also mentioned. She said Eterno makes “great setting choices.” Palmer considers her the best server on the team.
The Falcons won their last game of last week against Battle Ground, 3-0, on Sept. 22.
“(The) big picture is just playing to our potential,” Palmer said. “I don’t think we know just yet what that is. I think that we know that we can be a really great team and I think that every day in practice, we work to just get better at the little things so they can continue to add up and we can make great things happen.”
