Playoff season is here for Heritage Christian’s girls’ volleyball team! A historic season for the girls under new head coach Natalia Simmons. The beginning of the year was marked with uncertainty for the team, without a head coach the team was worried about what their season was going to look like. Worries were washed away though, when Natalia Simmons who is also a teacher at Heritage decided to step up and take the job. When interviewed on why she took the position she simply replied, “I just love the sport, I love being a part of these girls’ lives, and when I heard there was a position I couldn’t not apply for it.” Coach Simmons comes from a background of volleyball, playing in college and coaching in various places she had many goals when she took the job.

This year’s team was ambitious, setting many goals they truly believed they could accomplish by the end of the season. Coach Simmons set out what her goals were when she took the job stating that “I knew that I wanted a team room and I knew I wanted to make playoffs, those were my two goals.” The team’s goals not only impacted themselves but the other girl’s sports teams as well. The girl’s locker room had never had a team room until Coach Simmons and her team amazingly raised $15,000 to build the team room. 

The team’s second goal was making playoffs, a feat that the team hadn’t accomplished in 5 years. They did just that, accumulating a remarkable record ending up being 17-9 going into playoffs clinching the 3rd spot in league. This girl’s squad made history as the first volleyball team to win 4 games in the league, a true testament to the amazing coaching and dedicated players. Another milestone, Heritage was able to steal a game from rivals Village Christian another feat that hadn’t been accomplished in 20 years. 

Coach Simmons expressed her pride for her team and what they accomplished, “They obviously didn’t really know me coming in, but they bought into my plan and they worked hard to accomplish the goals we had this year. They overcame difficult situations to come together for a purpose and it shows in our success on and off the court.” 

The team has created a culture, drawing attention and bringing in people to be along for the historic run. Garnering respect from opposing teams, the girls have begun to make an impact and put themselves on the map. Senior and team captain Jadyn Harris when asked how she felt about the team and their succes this year she replied by saying “I feel our success this year has been a drastic change compared to last year. This year the team is a lot more connected and I thnk we were given a lot more drive to succeed thanks to Coach Simmons.” 

Jadyn nods to the chemistry and comradery that had built up this season and says that it was a huge component to victory. As a senior, Jadyn was asked what sort of legacy she wants to set up for future players and what kind of environment she wants to leave. She responded saying “I want to leave a winning and positive environment, I want to inspire future players to know that despite what people may say winning and changing the culture is possible.”

The girls’ volleyball team played their first playoff game in five years on October 24. Despite ending in a loss, the spirits are still high. A culture is in the midst of building. Despite the loss, huge advancements have been made in a single year to build a culture around the volleyball team and the players and coach don’t plan on stopping there. A lot of good things are in the works for Heritage Christian Girls’ Volleyball!