Since early August, the Mayfield Middle school eighth-grade girls volleyball team, led by Coach Dianetti, has been working hard to keep up their record of 12-2. After winning first place at the conference championships last year, the girls are hoping to keep that reputation and bring home one more first place trophy this coming weekend.

The team practice immediately after school every day, along with home and away games up to three times a week.  It has been very important for the girls, on the team to learn how to manage their time between volleyball, academics, and friends. The girls do this by spending as much free time they can work on homework and anything they have to do on bus rides or during the seventh-grade team’s games “It was hard at first but I learned to manage my time,” says Molly Appell, one of the eighth-grade players.

Along with tough time management, many of the girls say that practice alone hard work and can be quite a challenge. “Practice is tough but only because our coach is so good and yet at the same time, he makes practice fun,” says Appell.

All the girls on the eighth-grade team are very close friends and have many great experiences last year and throughout the now ending 2017 season.  These team friendships don’t only help them have an enjoyable season, but can also help out on the court. “We have a better connection on the court because we all started off as friends, which helps our support system on the team,” says Iulia Marginean, one of the captains of the team. She explained that communication and chemistry are very important for a successful game, and therefore a successful season. The girls rely heavily on each other while on the court, making trust very important in all stressful in game scenarios.

The eighth-grade team also finds it very important to be a role model to and teach the seventh-grade team. According to Jackie Hasto, another one of the team’s captains, “Young people look up to older people so it is important to teach them good sportsmanship and teamwork.”  They believe it is their duty to prepare the seventh graders for their c1oming years just as the eighth graders, now ninth-graders, did for them.

Though the team did lose to Willoughby and Kenston, with just two games remaining, the girls are working hard to keep their spot as 2nd place in the conference and secure their seed at the conference championship.

Eight Grade Volleyball team 2017:
•Riley Anderson
•Molly Appell
•Maya Barth
•Danielle Daher
•Giana DiTomas
•Nadia Gerbasi
•Jackie Hasto
•Katie Kirby
•Iulia Marginean
•Danielle Musi
•Hannah Peterson
•Lani Petruccio
•Lindsey Urban
•Danielle Viga
•Maya Webb