After experiencing fluctuation on the team due to injuries and sickness, the girls’ volleyball team came out victorious in the tournament Oct. 1. According to head coach Sam Hanlon, the team has a positive outlook for the rest of the remaining season.

“We started off really strong, then things got a little tough in the middle, but we’re back on the upswing,” Hanlon said. “Hopefully we can pull some good wins and get back on the positive.”

For sophomore Huston Samoy, the team’s performance is quickly determined by how well warming up and preparing for the back-to-back games goes. 

“If I have a good warmup, I usually feel a lot better about how the team is going to do — but I can feel myself getting nervous and anxious if warm ups didn’t go well or I know I could’ve done something different,” Samoy said.

Junior captain Addison Chenvert said she felt okay with how she has been playing, but the early morning affected her concentration.

“I was playing okay but definitely wasn’t playing my best,” Chenvert said. “I need to wake up some more and focus on certain skills and where I should be on the court.”

Even though she was physically ready, sophomore Evelyn Barnett said she wished she took more time to get into the right headspace before playing with her teammates.

“I want to get up earlier and get out of bed and take my time and get into a positive mindset before the game,” Barnett said. “I need to start focusing and envisioning myself playing how I want to play — like manifesting, in a way — I told my team to do the same.”

Despite Park having some tough games throughout the season, Hanlon said the team stayed consistent during practice to prepare for future games. 

“We make sure we work on things in practice that we would do in games to lead us to success,” Hanlon said. “They just need to remember that they are all really good volleyball players, and not lose confidence when there are tough games.”

Park is gearing up to face Coon Rapids at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at Coon Rapids High School.