Competition Takes the Court: Freshman Molly, junior Zoë and senior Ava McDonald all make varsity volleyball and will play together as a family this year

As she walked down to the school basement to meet the bosses of East volleyball, she could feel her heart beating. It could’ve been from the exhaustion of tryouts or maybe it was the pressure and anxiety building up all week to make the varsity volleyball team.

Freshman Molly McDonald was still sweaty from hours of scrimmaging with the other athletes trying out for volleyball. She was tired and sore — but knew that she had tried her best. That’s all that matters. Right?

All week she had put every ounce of her effort into volleyball — every serve and pass was harder than the last. But so far the only indication she had gotten of possibly making varsity was when she was put into a gym with the older varsity and JV girls after three days of tryouts. 

The hallway seemed to stretch on forever as she made her way towards Coach Henton’s office. When she got to the door, her heart began to beat out of control. She stepped inside and faced Coach Henton and Coach Kirby nervously, but immediately felt more at ease as Coach Henton began to speak.

“Molly, we would like to offer you a spot on the varsity team.”

Coach Henton kept talking after that, but she didn’t hear a word. 

I’m on the team! I get to play with Ava and Zoë! 

Molly and her sisters, junior Zoë and senior Ava, have been playing volleyball since third grade, but this is the first time they get to play on a school team together. Molly’s performance in tryouts determined if they would work and play as a team or if they’d continue to play the same sport separately. 

From playing in grade school to joining a club team to playing in middle school and now high school, the three of them have had years of training in the sport. They can be frequently found practicing sets and passes together at home. 

“My sisters and I work really well together and build each other up but we definitely get competitive when it comes to scrimmages,” Zoë said.

Being able to know how they play and being together for practices and games adds to their strategy on the court, and the sisters work as a team by nature. They know where they’re going and they know how they play. But in order to make varsity freshman year, you need a lot more than sister senses.

Through the three days of tryouts, Molly tried to bond with the varsity team and put all of her effort into each point scored. She didn’t shy away from communicating with her teammates during a point and running to every ball in scrimmages — even though it could’ve been viewed as being a “try hard.” 

On the final day of tryouts the sisters walked into the gym together, made sure their hair was up in the same high-pony style and started to warm up their serves and passes — each listening to their pre-game rap and Justin Bieber.

“You can tell that [Molly] immediately bonded really well with the team,” Ava said. “Everyone had gotten to know her really well by the end of tryouts.”

The final tryout day was structured like a tournament with multiple games going on at a time, scrimmage after scrimmage. The coaches walked around studying the players, their movements and their ability to work as a team. Molly felt like she was being watched and judged every moment. 

When the tryouts were finally over and she had gotten the news that she made varsity she celebrated with her sisters and the rest of the team. However, the hug-filled celebration didn’t last long because of the varsity practice that was scheduled for right after tryouts. They ended practice with a “good work today” from the coach and rode home listening to rap and talking about their shared victory.