This year’s volleyball team is a robust mix of returning, varsity players and green athletes who are ready to put in the work.

“The girls are all so happy to be on the court and they have some fun plays to run. They love what they are doing,” said coach Rachel Wilson. “We are a fairly young team. We have freshmen who stepped up and trained throughout the summer.”

The squad is anchored by three seniors: Tayla Malo, Alecia Talbot and Willow White. Wilson says the Vikings’ focus has been on switching the mindset that “varsity is good and junior varsity is bad.”

“Instead, we have varsity work on performance and JV on training. We also have swing players between the two,” she said.

The team is rounded out by Hannah Alexander, Morgan Anderson, Ava Ashcraft, Bethany Carter, Bella Evans, Makayla Hodges, Seraphine Knapp, Paula Gutierrez Latorre, Lili Malo, Malia Martinolich, August Moore, Valeria Rosales, Star Sanders, Milana Schneider, Rhya Segault, Shaye Spinner, Molina Stone and Ada Quintero. Wilson is aided by assistant coach Sada Ashcraft and volunteer coach Hank Date.

The Vikings’ first game was Sept. 8 against Shoreline Christian. The team lost but it was a learning experience.

“We saw really good things we are doing, but we also made some errors. There were a lot of nerves,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of excitement to bring to the court.”