“The girls keep getting better and better. The student athletes new to the program are particularly loving it. Overall, we’re seeing more and more interest in what we’re doing with SPIRE Volleyball Club (VC) internally and externally. Also importantly, the parents are very happy. They’re enjoying coming out and seeing their kids compete and improve. At the midseason point, I can say it’s been a very productive and successful season so far.”

So says Stephanie Kubec, Head Coach of Club Volleyball at SPIRE. Coach Kubec and her girls have only been at it since late last year, but have already gotten onto quite a roll. “This group hasn’t been playing together very long,” says Kubec, “but they’re doing it. A lot of our teams are finishing in the gold bracket. At a recent SPIRE tournament, one of our 17s teams won a two-day, elite tournament. Another 17s team finished third in the gold. Basically, we have volleyball teams finishing in the top tier of all the brackets.”

SPIRE VC teams have also been doing more than their fair share of traveling to notable tournaments. The Steel City Freeze, a large tournament held in Pittsburgh, attracted volleyball teams from across the country. A SPIRE VC team won the silver bracket after having almost made it to gold against a national team. Next month it’s off to Indianapolis for a Mid-East Qualifier, for the opportunity to play in yet another national tournament. 

In player news, Faith Vencill has been approached by several colleges interested in her for their women’s volleyball programs. She was also Performance Player of the Week in December. “I don’t like to single anyone out, because in my opinion, everyone on the team is killing it. But Faith has been a standout player so far and a real stalwart for the team.”

The big tournament on the horizon will be held at Cedar Point in Sandusky, where more than 500 volleyball teams from across the country will compete. From there, the club season officially ends at a final tournament in mid May, though certain age groups may finish earlier. At that point, it will be a matter of Coach Kubec and the players thinking back on the season, analyzing it for lessons learned, and looking forward to next season.

“Next season, I think we’re going to wait to put some of our higher-level teams together until we have our fall tryout,” says Kubec. “We had a lot more girls try out last year that were already playing at a higher level and looking to compete at that level, and we couldn’t accommodate them all. Otherwise, we’re hoping to grow our non-travel club volleyball contingent. Frankly, that’s already happening; we’re already starting to see greater interest in non-travel. I think next year we’re also going to push a 12s team, or even possibly go lower because as a club sport, we can do 10, 11, and 12. One of the great things about club volleyball is you can do things like that. You have flexibility and can put a lot of teams in motion. It’s great for the sport and great for SPIRE. What’s not to like?”