By Aubrey Frey

The volleyball season is in full swing, and Mount Vernon’s Sophomore volleyball team is heating up the court. They competed in a quad on Monday night at Solon. The Mustangs beat Clear Creek Amana 2-0, but lost to Center Point Urbana 2-1.

The teams that competed in the quad were Clear Creek Amana, Solon, Center-Point Urbana and Mount Vernon.

These were very important games for the Mustangs, not only because they were playing local rivals, but also because the team was down one player because of injury. “That kind of brought us down at first,” said outside hitter, Anna Nydegger. “But, then we figured out how to work with each other and we played pretty well for missing a player.”

To prepare for these games, the Mustangs have been working extra hard in practice. They mainly focus in their serve receive and defense. “They are hard work,” said sophomore  head coach, Nicole Elliott. “They always give it their best and no matter what the circumstances, they show up and give it their all.”

The Mustangs have set some big goals in order to keep improving for the rest of the season. They hope to keeping building relationships with each other and to continue to play well together. “The main goal is to continue to celebrate the good things and keep the momentum as we play,” said Elliott.

The team always makes sure to encourage each other and honor their teammates’ successes. “If someone has a good serve you give them a high five,” said libero, Chaira Blythe.  “Someone has a good block or kill, we always give them a high five. We are always encouraging each other and cheering them on.”

The Sophomore volleyball team will continue to work hard in practice for their away game with Maquoketa on Tuesday, Oct. 2.