Beyond The Net: Get To Know Iowa Select 16 Mizuno
On the court you see the fire, the intensity, and the joy of playing together. What about off the court? What are some of the pregame rituals, funny stories, and the inside jokes? Every team has a few, ok more than a few, but with all the competition and travel there are so many bonds formed with teenagers who walk into as a team as strangers and leave as best friends. Get to know some of the members of Iowa Select 16 Mizuno, they have locked in a bid to Nationals and will be competing at the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier this weekend.
Jay Angel
We are a really hard working team and we’re always having fun on and off the court. We hype each other up and we’re always determined to win!
A fun fact about me as a middle hitter I have to play back row and when I make a good dig my team goes wild and brings more excitement to the team!
Annabelle Costello
We are a strong willed team. We get along very well and are all really close which makes us communicate better on the court.
Being a setter, when I get a block my team goes crazy.
Before our games we listen to Wobble and do the dance to get hyped for the game.
Grace Gasper
Our team has a “fake” name for everyone that we like to call each other for fun on and off the court
We probably eat the most food you will ever see out of a group of teenage girls.
For me, my favorite part of playing in a game is winning a point after a long rally it gets me super hyped!
Anna Quijas
One of my favorite things about our team is how supportive we are on the court. If someone messes up, we all come together and cheer up our teammate.
Our team is also known for our crazy comebacks. Once we went on a 10 point run while we were down and ended up winning the game!
My favorite part of volleyball is the feeling after I get an amazing kill from the outside.
Ava Schubert
One of my favorite things about our team is how we always hang out after the games no matter if we lost or we won we just have fun together
I am the youngest on the team and they don’t treat me like I’m younger they treat me like I am the same age and they expect the same out of me.
My favorite thing in volleyball is always when someone makes a play or gets a kill and when we come together they have their hand over their mouth, saying that wasn’t supposed to happen and we all have a laugh.
Emma Schubert
My favorite thing about our team is how well we play together and how well we get along and we let people use their strengths and we all step up to help out with each others weaknesses.
Our team loves to dance and that is what brings us so close together no matter if we are on the court or in our hotel room we are dancing.
My favorite part of volleyball is before every game we go around with the starters and I toss up the “woah” and we all hit it, then I move on to anyone on the bench and then my parents it is such a silly thing but it makes us very hyped for the game.
Caidince Cleveland
My favorite part about this seasons was when Ava got hit by a serve and it bounced off of her and hit Jay in the face. Another thing that was really funny to me was when we as a team got security sent to our room because we had the music too loud.
For good luck as a team will do at least one dance move before the game starts and at Chicago, Ava, Emma and I all chest bumped before each game.
Three things that I can rely on is always trust your instinct, it’s never too late to try something new and just have fun.
One thing about our team that I love is we just have fun on the court and are always laughing about something which I feel makes us do so much better on the court!
Hailey Halupnick
One thing that i love about my team is how they make me comfortable. I can be myself around them since i have such a good connection with my teammates. We have been playing with each for 2 years and I wish it didn’t have to come to an end at some point. I for sure will miss them so much because of all the memories we’ve made together.
One quality that a team should have is being supportive and we definitely have that on and off the court. We are always there for each other no matter what, if we make a mistake, we will try to bring them up and tell them it’s okay, move on from it, you got the next one!
Personally, i have improved so much from the players i was 2 years ago, thanks to the best coaches i’ve ever had. My coaches are also very supportive and they know how to have fun. Whenever they give me feedback, i try my best to fix my problems to make myself better!