Calhoun girls volleyball team has accumulated 21 wins with only one loss so far this season. On Thursday night, the volleyball girls marked Senior Night. Now, as it will be in volleyball, basketball and softball, the Warriors are starting to set their eyes on the post season.
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The girls have some simple goals going into the final regular season matches.
Junie Zirkelbach and Grace Baalman share the same goal:
“My hopes are to go to state,” Zirkelbach said.
“I hope to make it back to Redbird Arena,” Grace Baalman said.
Sydney White said her hope is to finish her last volleyball season with a bang, meaning she also wants to play in the state volleyball finals.
Christen Wieneke’s goal at the start of the year was to have an outstanding season and she and the other girls have had that.
Six-foot-1 senior Emma Baalman said she hopes the Warriors can use their tremendous height here in the final matches of the season. In addition to Emma, Grace Baalman, a junior is 6-2, and Kassidy Klocke, another senior, is 6-foot.
Emma’s hopes for the season have been to have fun and have big opportunities as a team.
“It is awesome having our height and it does intimidate some of the opposing teams,” she said.
Klocke said her goal is to do better than last year and make it to state.
“No other team has the height and talent we have,” she said.
For Coach Ann Gilman, it has been a privilege working with such good, all-around girls.
“This is a rare group of athletes,” she said. “They work as a team and want to do we as a team. The team means more to them than individual recognition.
Emma Baalman loves volleyball and will play in college after this season.
Gilman describes Emma Baalman as “our fireball.”
Grace Baalman is such a rare athlete and Gilman said she believes Grace could play three sports in Division I, she is so solid in basketball and softball, too. She will focus on softball in college, committed to the University of Kentucky.
“I am sure it is not easy to play three sports in high school like she does,” she said. “All three of the coaches in volleyball, basketball and softball all work together well here at the school, which is important with many of them playing all three.”
