HaydenBlaney

With senior year comes great responsibility, especially for the athletes whose younger teammates look up to them for guidance. So, what does the situation look like when seniors are in the same spot as freshmen? 

Volleyball seniors Alena Kehm, Annabella Suljuzovic and Josie Piernicky’s hard work over the past three seasons has paid off. They are the newest senior faces on the varsity team. As part of the volleyball program since their freshman year, they have put in the time and effort it takes to be a top-tier player. However, when seniors think about new territory, they often think of college applications, not first varsity matches. 

“The environment is definitely different,” Piernicky said, “there’s just a bigger end goal in sight.” After two years on the JV team, Piernicky is not a stranger to the Marian volleyball program. “It’s a lot more intentional with what we’re doing,” she said. 

The seniors were the ones who chose a motto for this season. “Our phrase for this year is ‘All In’… [we] decided it because we all want to embody and play selfless volleyball,” Piernicky said. 

While Piernicky’s path to a varsity jersey was not an easy road, her hard work and dedication to the sport and the program set her up for success. 

“Coming in as a freshman, I was not in club [volleyball], not necessarily the best, and I feel like Coach Moore took a chance on me. He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself at the time,” she said. She did not waste that chance. 

Piernicky has taken up her role as a senior on the team, but not in a conventional way. “I don’t have to be the biggest leader on the court. There’s a sense of peace knowing you can still lead and set an example as one of the quieter people on the court,” she said. 

Coach Jake Moore has a unique view when it comes to how he sees his players. 

“Once you step in the gym, everyone is the same,” he said. His philosophy says that any grade is capable of anything. Whether you are a freshman who is stepping onto a high school court for the first time or a senior who has played every match of her career, Moore believes that every girl has a place. 

In regards to the first-time seniors, he isn’t worried. 

“The nice thing about the volleyball program is that all the girls that are involved in it usually have quite a bit of club experience, and so, therefore, they’re used to that kind of environment,” he said. “I think the nice thing is that since we had the summer to train, that’s taken some of the uneasiness away.”

Senior season can also be bitter sweet as it’s the last season some of the athletes will play. “If you’re a sophomore, it’s always, ‘I get next year’. Seniors, this is it,”  Moore said. For the new seniors, this is their one season in the spotlight which means their varsity firsts are also their varsity lasts. 

“Their senior night, it’s their only year on varsity and it’s their night,” Moore said. 

“It’s definitely a little hard because I want to leave everything on the floor, no regrets, I have nothing to lose. It’s my last time playing the sport that I love so why not fill this last season with as much love as I can,” Piernicky said. 

“Right or wrong, I think society puts a lot of pressure on [senior year] because it’s so important,” Moore said. 

Part of his focus is to relieve this pressure for not only the new seniors but the other players as well. 

“What we try to do is downplay that a little bit, because we want them not to have that added pressure,” he said. This coaching philosophy seems to be a key piece in how the team fits together. 

According to Piernicky, they’re not just a team. “Our environment feels much more like a family than a team. At the end of the day, I want to push that sense of family in the program,” she said. 

“I will be extremely sad when it’s all over, but I really think that the gratitude is overflowing,” Piernicky said. “It’s my last hurrah.” 

With the team into their season with a record of 14-3, Marian volleyball is looking as good as ever. “We’re excited to have fun,” Moore said, “and it’s gonna be a good year all across the board.”