by Skye Thompson and Bailey Schildberg

The Harlan Cyclones have always been a big competition for the Atlantic Trojans and many other teams. Thursday, Sept. 18, is when the Trojan volleyball players face the Harlan Cyclones. The record for the Harlan volleyball girls is 11-1, compared to the Trojan record 1-7. By the look of the stats, the Harlan Cyclones have quite the advantage over the Atlantic girls, but because of the Trojan girls’ improvement over this last year we never know what may happen.

Junior Meghan Reilly said, “We’ve proven a lot of people’s expectations wrong about the 2014 volleyball season. The support from spectators and students means a lot and is greatly appreciated, even during the tough games.”

Reilly says the team is preparing for the game by coming together and acting more like a team and having fun together. Her individual goal is “staying calm, cool, and collective.”

Catherine Leonard said, “It is good for us as a team because we get to compete against elite competition.” Leonard is personally going to improve by aggressively attacking, not being timid, being consistent, and paying attention to the details.

The setter for the Trojans, sophomore Megan Behrends, said that as a team they need to communicate better because of their hitting ability. She thinks Jess Shaben and Harlan’s libero are the biggest competition because Shaben slams it down at the ten foot line and the libero can dig everything.

Although the Cyclones were the Class 4A State Champions in the 2013 season, the Atlantic volleyball girls stats show that they have improved immensely from last year, and look forward to this game so they can get better as a team.