Heading into her third year on varsity, Kennedy Toomer, senior, has been playing volleyball since she was in seventh grade. She was introduced to the sport in fifth grade by her friends, but she took two years off to play soccer.

“My friends were already in volleyball, and they said, ‘You’re tall, you should play too,’” Toomer said. “I came back to volleyball because I did not love [soccer] as much as I loved volleyball.”

Since starting again in seventh grade, Toomer has played for the North Pacific Juniors Volleyball Club, an organization that hosts over 70 teams across Oregon and Washington and supports all age groups.

“I feel like the difference [between high school and club volleyball] is that in high school, you have a bigger and closer community with each other,” Toomer said. “You spend a lot of time with each other, so you definitely become closer and have more mutual friends.”

Toomer has recently committed to play volleyball at Bushnell University in Eugene. The school is in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division, and is affiliated with the University of Oregon (UO), so their students are also enrolled in UO classes.

“I think my biggest accomplishment has been committing to play in college,” Toomer said. “That was definitely one of the goals I have had since I started, so being able to achieve that has been great. I had been talking to the coaches since my freshman year, and I wanted to stay in Oregon—close to my family—but not somewhere super close, so Eugene was a good place to be. I love the school.”

As the team’s right-side hitter, Toomer focuses on blocking and attacking from both the front and back row. Although she has not faced any major injuries, she has encountered mental obstacles.

“I think for me, it’s always been about confidence and just being patient with myself,” Toomer said. “Definitely just learning that mistakes are a part of the game—volleyball is a game of mistakes, so just being able to move on from those and learn from them is important. [This year], my personal goal has just been to have fun; it’s senior year and I’m committed, so there’s nothing I really need to be worried about.”

As one of the four seniors on the team, Toomer is one of the captains this year. At the beginning of the season, the other captain, Amelia Haj, experienced a leg injury, leaving Toomer to take on a larger leadership role.

“Since my other captain is injured and currently isn’t playing, I’ve been kind of doing this captain thing on my own,” Toomer said. “I’ve been trying to be patient with the team and with myself, and just going to practice every day as a new day.”

Their current head coach, Kathy Walker, became the varsity coach last year and was the junior varsity (JV) coach when Toomer was on the team her freshman year.

“They’re very supportive,” Toomer said. “I think they are the best coaches I’ve ever had. They’re very kind and give great advice, and they know what to say and when to say it. Our goal this year is to make it back to the state tournament. We made it last year for the first time in a while, so definitely just getting us back to that point.”

The team participates in bonding activities, such as game-day lunches and team dinners. Before the season, they had a sleepover after the team roster was chosen, and they will spend a weekend in Bend for a tournament later in the season. 

“We’re a very young team, which means they’re going to do great in the following years after we leave. I love our team,” Toomer said. “We’re so fun, so loud, so energetic, and we’re happy to be here and want to get good reps all the time. For those wanting to make varsity, I would say to never give up. We have girls on varsity right now who went from JV 3 to varsity in one year, so literally anything can happen. Every year is different, so just give it your all, even when coaches aren’t watching.”

National volleyball player Elsie Bauer, freshman, is the youngest player on the varsity team, but being in this position is not a new feat—growing up, Bauer played on older teams through club volleyball. 

“When I was 12 years old, I played up on a 13-year-old’s team with a lot of the girls here,” Bauer said. “And I just had to get used to it. I just had to click with my team, starting with the older girls.”

Prior to starting club volleyball, Bauer played recreationally in third and fourth grade. Once she reached fifth grade, Bauer started playing competitively for the North Pacific Junior Volleyball Club and is now on their national team. 

“For club, you have practices two times a week, and your season is a lot more spread out,” Bauer said. “You probably spend the same amount of time with your team, but you don’t just have games—you have tournaments which you travel for. Last year, we went to Texas, Kansas, Salt Lake City twice, and then Seattle.”

As an experienced volleyball player, Bauer has multiple accomplishments such as making varsity as a freshman and qualifying for nationals. 

“When we qualified last year, we came in the bottom-ranked seed, and you need to be in the top three to qualify, and in our first game, we beat the number one-ranked seed and just kept going,” Bauer said. “We had a lot of energy and adrenaline. It was really fun.”

When it comes to goals for the remainder of the season, Bauer has a few things in mind for both herself and the team. 

“I want us to win the [Three Rivers League], and I want to make it back to state,” Bauer said. “I want to keep my hitting percentage over 2.0, and then I really want to keep my starting spot.”

Looking past high school, Bauer wants to continue her volleyball career at the Division I level. As a freshman, Bauer is in the early stages of recruitment, but is still emailing coaches and attending camps.

Having played volleyball since fifth grade, Gigi Martin, sophomore, plays for both the high school team and a club team, with major achievements at both levels.

“A few years ago, my team got second at nationals for club, and then I got [Three Rivers League] honorable mention last year for high school,” Martin said.

With these accomplishments already under her belt, Martin’s goals are set high for the team this year.

“We’re definitely hoping we make it to state and I think we’re getting better and better as the season goes on, so I’m hoping we place higher than we did last year,” Martin said.

Martin notes how important having a team-friendly mindset and good work ethic are.

“Be loud and very supportive to your teammates while you’re in the open gyms, come fully prepared at every practice, and work as hard as you can,” Martin said.

Coming into the gym with this mindset also benefits the culture and environment of the team as a whole.

“I just think everyone actually connects really well,” Martin said. “All the girls on our team are all nice girls, and everyone [wants] the best for each other. I think that’s really important, that we have good chemistry and [that] we all care for each other. Everyone’s still competitive, but it’s a healthy competitive.”

According to Martin, the environment of the high school team is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the club season and offseason.

“There have been some coaches who I’ve had a hard time with and [times I’ve] wanted to take a break from volleyball during the summer, but every time I come back to high school volleyball, it always makes me want to play more and keep going,” Martin said.

Leading as a senior, Heidi Goehring, senior, strives to be a positive force on the team. 

“I try to lift up other people, even if I don’t feel the most positive about myself, because in volleyball, the way that you present yourself and the energy you have on the court can determine a game,” Goehring said.

Goehring, who started playing volleyball in sixth grade, made varsity her sophomore year and has been on the team ever since, but has a particular fondness for this year’s roster.

“I just love the community that we have, the team sports,” Goehring said. “I just love these girls.”

Playing as a defensive specialist, Goehring is responsible for not letting the ball drop, and bettering the ball for her teammates. 

“It’s about getting into the mindset of diving,” Goehring said.

Outside of school, Goehring plays for the Portland Volleyball Club. Her club team is a lot more about individual fitness and sport qualifications than team community. The West Linn High School Team is where Goehring feels like she belongs best. 

“The [club] season is longer, but you don’t see [your teammates] as much. At school, you get to see each other every day, and you really create a closer family,” Goehring said.

Goehring is focusing on being a positive role model to the new members of the volleyball team. 

“[I am] trying to be really positive and uplifting, especially as a senior. Trying to make sure that the other younger girls know that I’m here for them, and that they have one another, too,” Goehring said.

After watching her friends play in their own volleyball tournament, Audrina Peia, sophomore, was inspired to start the sport in fifth grade.

Since making the varsity team her freshman year, Peia has played as the libero, defending the back of the court. Aside from her love for the sport, Peia enjoys the team culture surrounding volleyball.

“The people that I get to meet every year [through volleyball], they’re all super sweet and fun to play with. I just love the sport so much,” Peia said.

Before volleyball, Peia played other sports, including soccer. But, volleyball stood out to her the most because of the connections with her teammates.

“You have to rely and trust on your teammates because it’s a lot different than most sports,” Peia said. “So I feel like having that trust builds really good bonds between lots of the girls, then you have like a family kind of within your team.”

Aside from playing on the varsity team, Peia also plays for the North Pacific Juniors Volleyball Club. Playing on both teams gives Peia a perspective of the different team environments.

“I prefer [the] high school season. There are different grade levels, you meet so many new girls, and it’s a shorter season, so you get close fast,” Peia said. “Club is definitely way longer, and I think for me, definitely, my high school experience so far has been way more fun.”

As only a freshman, Peia was able to get a Three Rivers League Honorable Mention, which she recognizes as one of her biggest accomplishments in her volleyball career.

This season, Peia hopes her team can receive the Three Rivers League Champion title in addition to qualifying for the state championship tournament. Individually, Peia hopes to play with more confidence on the court.

“[I want to] play with confidence and to not be afraid of really good teams that [are] bigger and better than us,” Peia said.

Although Peia has only been playing on varsity for one year, she’s noticed a unique team dynamic with this year’s roster.

“When we have a lot of energy, we can be any team [and] do anything,” Peia said.

Although she started in elementary school, Eika Franklin, senior, hadn’t played volleyball for a consecutively long time as she started playing again in high school.

“I started in fifth grade, but it wasn’t serious,” Franklin said. “I was just doing it because all my friends did and I didn’t want to be the only one that didn’t do it. So I played fifth and sixth grade, and then I didn’t play seventh grade [through] ninth grade, but then I started again sophomore year, and I just loved it and I kept going.”

When Franklin wasn’t playing volleyball, she was still honing her passion for sports. 

“From kindergarten to fourth grade, I played soccer, and then fifth and sixth grade, I also played basketball,” Franklin said. “In seventh grade, I did cross country and then I switched to track, and I did track until last year.”

Franklin doesn’t just play for the high school, she plays on a club team outside of school too. 

“I like club since [the] school season is two [or] three months. Club season really feels more like a family, because you’re with each other for almost a whole year, from December to April. That’s also much longer than December to May or June,” Franklin said. “We had so much team bonding last year, and like all the tournaments we were at, we were staying at Airbnbs as a team, which really helped the team.”

While she hasn’t always been as committed to volleyball as she is now, Franklin is invested in her team. 

“We put our best into every game. We give ourselves a limit of how many missed serves you can have each game. We give everything our all. We always strive and leave the games higher and feel like we left everything on the court,” Franklin said.

Gweta Da Setta, sophomore, also known as Greta Doel off the court, started playing volleyball in fourth grade in the shadow of her older sister’s volleyball career. 

“I just immediately fell in love with the sport,” Doel said. “It’s such a team sport. I feel like you can grow such a strong bond with your team. You meet every single person on the court; everyone is important.”

After years of trying out other roles, Doel finally found herself returning to setter time and time again, giving her the namesake of Gweta Da Setta. 

The community of the team inspires her to do the best she can. Her club program, Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy, has a different feeling from the high school team. During her second season in club volleyball, she made a lower team than some of her friends.

 “It forced me to work harder and get to the level that I’m at today.” Doel said.

 In high school, volleyball brings the team together in school spirit, while the club team is more about developing yourself as an athlete. 

“Club season is really focused on skills,” Doel said. “The high school season is really focused on the team as a whole. You spend every single day with each other. You can grow a stronger connection so much faster, and I just think that high school is about having fun and also working hard as a team together. It just really makes you have a strong connection to everyone.” 

In the upcoming year, Doel is excited about the energy of the team. Making varsity as a freshman gave her experience in developing this year’s team spirit, as well as being able to make connections with her teammates and captains over the last two years. 

“I love how we all play as a team, and I feel like we all have really good chemistry, and we’re just really strong together,” Doel said. “We’re all able to work hard, and we all have the same goals to reach that level of wanting to win.”

Wearing a different jersey at first, Sophia Silva, junior, started on the West Linn team at the end of her freshman year. Now, she’s been a part of the team for two years.

“I feel like we’re a family, and I feel supported by all my teammates,” Silva said. “So it’s a great environment.”

However, once she joined the team, Silva’s season didn’t last long as a disc protrusion in her back kept her away from the game for the entirety of her sophomore season.

“It’s been challenging because I’ve been pretty sad about not being able to play,” Silva said. “It was hard, but I just did a lot of physical therapy.”

Silva is now getting back on the court, returning to her position as a middle blocker for the team. She has been playing there for the entirety of her career, despite its challenges.

“My position is kind of bizarre, and I have to get out everywhere, and get off and transition,” Silva said. “I feel like to play it, it makes me really dedicated and work really hard.”

As she gets back in the swing of things, Silva knows that she and the team want to become state champions, a title that has been held by Jesuit High School for the past two years.

“I just want to work as hard as I can to make that a possibility for my team,” Silva said.

Silva has a history of victory. In her second year playing volleyball, Silva made it onto the national team for her club, Athena Volleyball Academy.

“I was really excited for that and that’s what kind of made me keep going and keep playing,” Silva said.

Silva hopes to continue her volleyball career beyond high school, a mindset that informs her decisions as she begins to think about college. 

“I’m looking for a culture similar to this where I feel supported and loved by my teammates, like a family,” Silva said. “So I’m really looking for that wherever I play.”

As Silva prepares for her next steps, she passes on the lessons she’s learned in the program to future students hoping to follow in her footsteps.

“Just stay with it. Stay dedicated, work hard,” Silva said. “You just gotta put in the work, and it’s really fun. Just gotta work for it if you want it.”

Starting volleyball her freshman year, Ameila Haj, senior, played other sports when she was younger but has a growing passion for volleyball.

“I danced for nine years before, and I was just wanting to do something new, like volleyball,” Haj said.

Haj and the team have a bond that she hasn’t experienced when playing on her club.  

“For club, a lot of the girls you don’t see every single day, and it’s usually girls from other schools,” Haj said.

Haj, in her fourth year on the team, aims to be a leader for her teammates.  

“[I want] to be [a] super supportive teammate, and someone that people can look up to by having [a] good attitude during games and checking up on my teammates,” Haj said.  

As a senior, Haj has advice for junior varsity players striving to be on varsity in the future.

“Definitely just go 110% [in] anything you can,” Haj said.

After high school, Haj plans on going to college and playing for a volleyball team. 

“[I want] to find a team that makes it all worth it,” Haj said.

Haj and her teammates do team bonding, including activities like team dinners and hangouts. 

“Everyone just gets along with each other very well,” Haj said. “[We’re] super high energy, and it makes it way more fun.”