Notre Dame Academy’s girls volleyball team is one of the school’s most successful teams to date. Led by a strong group of girls, the team has consistently been a powerful force in their conference year after year.

In the 2017 season, they are currently number one in their conference and plan to stay that way. Team captains are Sydney Slack and Morgan Vandrisse.

Slack, a senior, has been playing for eight years and is confident that 2017 is the year for the Tritons to finally secure the state trophy.

“We have a lot of standout players this year and the entire team is motivated,” she said.

The team is primarily composed of senior girls who have been a varsity member for two years or more.

“Grace Campbell is one of our stars because she is a three-year starter.  We can always count on her as a reliable hitter when we need to score,” Slack explained.

Practices are always high energy and driven. On occasion, the senior girls are trusted to lead the practice.

“Our goal is always to improve every single day,” said Slack. “The mentality of the team is probably to never give up. We compete for every single point no matter the circumstances of the game.”

She maintains that the coaches and fans have a very strong connection. “I know they want the best for all of us, on and off the court.”

Maddie Reitz, another senior and right-side hitter, looks forward to the competitiveness of games. “We work hard all the time, but the atmosphere of games is so much different than in practice.”

The motto of the team is to “play like champions” and the girls live up to that in every challenge. “During the games, I know exactly what all [my teammates] are thinking. We have a single goal and we all fight our hardest for each other.” This is Reitz’s second favorite aspect of the team, aside from the closeness of the girls. “We are a tight knit group, and working hard is something to be expected which leaves room for practices to still be goofy and fun.”

Both Slack and Reitz agree that their team is like no other. “I’ve played club volleyball and on other teams and they don’t come close to Academy volleyball,” Reitz said. “We are a team on and off the court.”

The Tritons next game is Thursday, Oct. 5, against Preble, and it promises to be an exciting match.