St. Raymond girls' volleyball team wins championship

The eighth grade St. Raymond girls' volleyball team won a thrilling Northwest Catholic Conference Silver Division Championship match on Nov. 1 at St. Viator, upsetting a favored Our Lady of the Wayside team.

"We might have had some nerves to work out in the first game versus Wayside on Sunday," said St. Raymond Eighth Grade Girls' Volleyball Head Coach Donna Hoffman. "They had beaten us twice this season and came out with strong serves that we struggled to return. It was over quickly; we were beaten soundly, embarrassingly, 25-6."

"The girls came out determined to play better in game two, and, with the loud support of their fans, won the next game 25-15," continued Hoffman. "Then there was no stopping them. Our serving was outstanding and Wayside began to fall apart. We ended up winning the tiebreaker 25-16. We were so excited and proud of the girls to make such a comeback. Perfect way to end the season for a great group of girls."

The eighth grade Lady Saints were placed in the Silver division which was new this year, and according to Hoffman, had a successful second place 8-2 season. With 16 girls on the team, Hoffman made four squads of four girls and brought 12 to each conference game, except for "Pack the Gym" where everyone was invited to play. She also had the whole team at St. Raymond's Volley for the Cure fundraiser volleyball event and the two tournaments in which the Lady Saints played.

"One of our goals as coaches this year was to keep perfecting the basic skills of volleyball as we taught them how to run an offense and play some defense," said Hoffman, who shared coaching duties with Mark Neuhalfen and Angie Babicz. "Every one of the girls has improved their individual skills and knows how to play the game as a team. They trusted the coaching, encouraged each other, displayed great sportsmanship, and we had fun."

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