The Crown Point High School's gyms were anything but quiet when Crown Point held their annual volleyball tournament on Saturday. Ten teams gathered to battle it out on three different courts with Crown Point hosting Fort Wayne Snider, Munster, Cathedral, Lake Central, Illiana Central, Warsaw, Chesterton, Brownsburg, and Plainfield. It was obvious from the team cheers and constant encouragement that the players were motivated.
Vanessa Del Real is a junior who plays for Crown Point. She started playing volleyball when she watched a softball teammate play volleyball at a tournament. She knew then she wanted to play volleyball.
“The girls are like family to me,” said Del Real. “They get me up in the morning. I love playing with them and they keep me where I am.” Del Real was looking forward to their match against Munster feeling that the Bulldogs are having a solid start to the season.
Munster’s Sarah Morton, a senior playing for the Mustangs was feeling motivated to play as well.
“I've always had a love for this sport It’s my outlet,” said Morton. "Being a part of the Munster program is so special because we all have the same motivation and that is to get back to state this year. We don’t want to set the bar low or high for each team we play. We have to treat each game like it is the state championship.”
Morton says the pressure to return to State will not negatively impact the team.
“It’s a lot of pressure out there but it only motivates us,” she said smiling.
Emma Ekblaw and Reese Czarniecki, seniors on Chesterton, like Del Real, found motivation from their team.
“I am motivated by my teammates. They all motivate me and I do it for them just as much as I do it for myself,” said Czarniecki. “We all show up here together and we are here together and for the team. That’s what motivates me personally. I have to show up for these people because I have my job and my responsibility and they have theirs. All together that’s how it works.”
“It’s pretty much the same thing," said Ekblaw. “They show up for me and I show up for them. It’s a team effort. This is an important part of our lives and we want to make sure we are all doing our own part to make it worthwhile for each other.”
Ekblaw is looking forward to the Trojan’s season.
“As a team we have come together. We have seven seniors so the court is going to be so mature. The younger players work well with us. We gel together and it feels like we are one unit.”
“We had a scrimmage on Thursday. It was nice to be on the court and be connected,” said Czarniecki. “It’s better to have the team balanced and not just be automatic we have to win.”
The seniors were excited to play new teams, viewing at the tournament viewing it as opportunity to play on instinct.
“Some of these teams we have never played before. We don’t know what they are like so we can't be scared to go in there. What matters is we go in with confidence, trust our training, and trust each other,” said Ekblaw.