UMFK Volleyball Team Readies for a Strong and Promising Season

Fort Kent, Maine (WAGM) - The UMFK Volleyball team is more determined than ever to clinch their program’s first championship this season. With a resilient roster in place, they anticipate a promising season ahead.

Halle Ham, UMFK SENIOR:” I’m feeling really good. We ended last season on a hard loss and I think everyone who came in new and returning is ready to win”.

Tara Kelley, UMFK HEAD COACH:” I’m feeling really good about my team. We have a stronger mentality, We have an older team. This year we did a good job at recruiting some transfers in from some JUCO’s, so I’m excited to see what they do because they’re going to add some good mentality and some good strength to our team”.

An air of determination surrounds the team this year as they strive to pave the way for a successful season. Last year, the team reached the national championship and came within a set of victory. a setback that fueled both challenge and growth for this season.

Tara Kelley, UMFK HEAD COACH:” The heartbreak, I mean losing in the championship game by three points when we were up in the fifth set, that was hard for us. We had to take some time off to really come back. The returners, they trained hard in the spring to kind of help their mentality. The start of the season, We came in just a bit earlier than we did the year before and that really, really helped us because it’s been allowing us to put in some more drills that will help strengthen our mentality” .

One part of their play this team prides themselves on is their defense, and in practice, along with mental toughness drills, they have also been focusing on their offense

Halle Ham:” We’ve been taking a lot of time on our offense because our defense is pretty solid and a lot of our new people are offensive people. So getting that setter hitter connection”.

The team is confident in their skill set and believes they have what it takes to make a strong run. With the ability to make an impact from various positions on the court, thanks to multiple skilled players, they are poised to be a formidable presence in every match.

Sharon De Vet, UMFK SOPHOMORE:” Definitely our serving. We have really, really strong servers. Everyone has their own qualities in that specific part too. We have some very hard servers, We have deep, short, everything. Whatever we want. We can put someone on there and we’ll get it. So I feel like that is a really big advantage. And then our outside hitters, our middles and our right side, we’re just so strong. I feel like, yeah, it’s going to be tough for other teams”.

Tara Kelley:” I really think that their energy goes a long way for our team this year. I mean, they they’ll their energy will carry them through anything. We’ll put in some really tiring drills that are meant to frustrate them and their mentality them all the way”

Come September, the Bengals embark on their journey, aiming to be the ones hoisting the trophy at season’s end.

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