Season Recap: Hershey Volleyball

Season Recap: Hershey Volleyball
Published: Dec. 4, 2021 at 7:32 PM CST
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NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - The Hershey Panthers came out slow to open the 2021 season as they lost their first four games. That did little to deter the players as they would go on to finish 19-8 overall, have a record winning streak, take second place at the SPVA conference tournament and win their most games since 2018.

It was a great year for Panther volleyball, and Head Coach Samantha Kennedy credits that to the hard work the players put in each and every day.

“It was a really good season. We started off kind of rough. We played some really challenging teams, but the girls never quit. They kept pushing and we ended up having a 16-game winning streak. All the girls work hard, but this was just special because of the way each person had to step up. They all had different roles on the team and they fulfilled those roles really nicely.”

Samantha Kennedy, 2nd Year Head Coach

As for those role players, the senior class was a tight-knit group, with two of the four being cousins. Their effort to improve despite the early season adversity was as impressive a resolve as any team in the area.

“I felt like it was a really good season overall. We really showed up to practice every day and everyone gave it their all every day. We’re all really close and we spend a lot of time together outside of the gym. That really brings us together on the court.”

Shayda Vaughn, Senior

“We started off with some really tough games. We didn’t quit, we kept going through that time. After those games, we kind of reevaluated our practices. We figured out what we needed to do to get better. We improved a lot by the end of the season.”

Kate Vaughn, Senior

“This year, we have been really close. We’ve played off the court a lot. We had four seniors this year and we’ve grown up with each other. Just really overall good. We just bond really well with each other on the court.”

Abby Hassett, Senior

“We work really well together. We were all very happy with the underclassman we had. We worked really well with everyone. It was just a really good season for our last season.”

Annah Wareham, Senior

Those four seniors pave the way for the next generation of Panthers as the underclassman look to improve on a great 2021 campaign for Hershey.

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