Aaliyah Royster
Staff Writer
On the morning of August 31, Alexandria City’s Varsity volleyball team boarded a plane en route to Orlando, Florida to play in the 2021 Kaylee Scholarship Association Fall Volleyball Classic Tournament. This is the third time the team has gone to Florida to attend the KSA tournament, and this year, they finished first in their bracket with a record of 5-0. After winning the state championship title following an undefeated season, Alexandria City’s varsity volleyball team was eager to start the new season off with a bang. The KSA tournament included volleyball teams from across the country and took place from September 1st to September 5th in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center.
However, the team didn’t just go to play volleyball, they also ventured to Universal Studios, hung out at the hotel pool, went out to dinner, and bonded as a team. Rachel Wilson, senior and a defensive specialist, said her favorite memories were, “The couple [of] hours before bed when everyone is tired and delirious…when you’re all together [and] having really fun conversations,” she said, “[It’s] like a big group sleepover.”
The Varsity head coach, A.J. DeSain, recalls that his favorite memory was, “All of us sitting down to do dinner together at the Hard Rock Cafe after the tournament.”
In addition to the fun, the girls prevailed in the tournament, winning all five of their games. When asked how she thought her team played in the tournament, Chloe Wilmot, a junior and setter for the team, answered, “Pretty good,” she added, “We had our ups and downs [and the tournament] shed a light on the things we needed to work on”.
Natalie Keough, senior and setter, said that despite their ups and downs, “We played really well and came back really well mentally.”
“The girls did a great job,” DeSain said, “They got to try different line-ups against schools from across the country. [It was] a really good challenge for the group.”
Going to Florida, the state with the third most COVID cases in the country, carries risks. When asked about what the team did to stay safe before, during, and after the tournament, DeSain said, “While we were in Florida, they were encouraged to wear masks while inside,” and even though masks weren’t required, the team wore them while playing anyway. After being asked if he was nervous about COVID in Florida, he said, “Yes and no. We know that if we do the things you’re supposed to do to stay safe, things will be okay.”
Junior middle blocker Annalie McCarthy was asked if going to Florida during the pandemic made her nervous and how she coped. She revealed that she was nervous and said she was “more confident knowing that I was fully vaccinated.”
The volleyball team is taking COVID concerns seriously and is hoping to have a successful season uninterrupted by COVID.
The KSA 2021 Fall Volleyball Classic seemed to be a successful starting point and set ACHS’s state-champion volleyball team up for a fun and competitive season.
Photo courtesy of A.J. DeSain
