After a huge 3-0 win against Prairie, the City High Volleyball team is officially ranked 15th in the state in class 5A.

“Seeing that we can play at that level, it’s exciting,” captain Makayla Ribble ‘22 said. “To see that [during] regional games in the future we could get forward, rather than like last year.”

Last year City High was eliminated during the first round of the class 5A regionals in a match against West High School.

“[This year], our whole team is pretty much young,” Ribble said. “So I think, for playing as a new group of girls together, it’s going really well.”

This year, there is a larger emphasis on building trust as a team, with players often picking a new partner for drills in order to strengthen the team bond.

“One little connection between someone you don’t really know can really benefit the team,” captain Morgan Turner ‘22 said. “So with newcomers that really help our team those little things are important.”

This year there are 12 new girls on the varsity team, making just over 50% of the team new since last year.

“[The first game] was a good start for us, it showed us where we all can really do,” Turner said. “And even our game [against Prairie] was one of our best ones. It showed us what standards [we have to] keep ourselves at.”