Senior Ashton Long has been playing basketball since he was in kindergarten. “This is actually my second year on varsity because I didn’t play last year.” 

Long loves his teammates, adding that it’s a home away from home.

“To be able to just go out there and play and be able to have this opportunity, especially since I didn’t play last year, I’ve been able to enjoy it,” he continued. 

Though the coaches picked Long to represent number 10 on the court, he doesn’t mind it since his favorite number is 1. 

Long believes playing is kind of like a stress reliever. He went on to say, “Whenever you step on the court, everything kind of goes away, and it’s just you and those guys with you on the floor.”

Long said that when you are playing basketball, you are just worried about winning the game. You are not worried about anything else.

“We are all going toward one common goal, and that is what I look forward to everyday,” he added.

In regards to playing after high school, Long said, “I’m just going to let everything play itself out and see what happens. What happens, happens.”

Junior Brianna Rowland was inspired by her older sister to play softball.

While her older sister played number seven, she found a way to make her own impact. “I’m originally number nine but for high school I play 10 because we don’t have a nine,” Rowland said.

Though when she was younger, she played number 10, “It’s kind of like my second favorite number.”

Her love for the sport blossomed from her sister playing softball as she loved watching her when she was growing up. She continued, “I just wanted to do it too.”

Rowland loves the team and goes on to say, “We have played together since we were in 6th grade on a feeder team. We’re all just really close and we work really well together.”

She added that by playing, everything just kind of goes away when she is out on the field. Rowland said, “All the stress you’ve had, and just being able to hang out with your friends and doing the things you love, it’s amazing.”

Rowland also likes that in high school, you are playing with your friends. “It’s just getting that connection with them and knowing you all have the same interest, it’s way better.”

Outside of Liberty’s team, she plays for a travel team where she gets the opportunity to go to different states and play in a lot of tournaments. Rowland stated, “You have to work for it and you have to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

Junior Kylee Velcheck is following in her sister’s footsteps by playing jersey number 10. 

“I picked the number 10 because of my sister, she played number 10, and she graduated last year. It was always her number,” she said. 

Velcheck’s older sister inspired her to play volleyball. “I’m kind of following in her footsteps,” she continued. 

Velcheck and her sister are still close despite her graduating. “We were closer before she went to college, so now she’ll come home for the summer, and we’ll get close again. It’s kind of an off and on switch. When she leaves, it turns off a little,” she added.

Velcheck believes she started playing sometime around 4th grade. She plays both at school and on a club volleyball team. Club season is during the winter time, while the school’s season is during fall. 

“The coaches are really great. It’s a good atmosphere, everyone kind of knows everyone,” she said.

“With high school, you’re practicing every day after school, so I feel like you build relationships really quickly with the people. You see them a lot, and on the volleyball court,” Velcheck said. 

She mentioned she has gained a lot of experiences, lessons, and visited various places because of playing volleyball. “You get to stay in hotels with people, you’re not playing all day so sometimes you go out and do fun stuff, team bonding. It’s really fun,” Velcheck expressed.