Bump, set, spike! The Clements Rangers volleyball team concluded their 2017 season with a banquet held at the Sweetwater Country Club. Coaches, players, and parents shared memories and shed tears for the past, present, and future seasons.

This year, the volleyball program consisted of three teams; Freshman, JV, and Varsity. The freshman team was led by Amy Hascek, the JV team coached by Lauren Rogers, and the head and varsity coach was Christopher Simmons.

The varsity roster consisted of 15 players, 10 of which who were seniors.

From left to right, (at the top row) there was junior Rachel Scharfman, junior Jenna Kabot, sophomore Rita Lai, senior Sarosha Ali, senior Riley Spengemen, senior Emily Price, (at the bottom row) sophomore Ginger Williams, senior Kaitlin Dinh, senior Esmatu Kamara, senior Emme Le, senior Kelli Claytor, senior Bela Ferrer, senior Abby Gutierrez, senior Jenna Wong, and sophomore Natalie Huynh.

Six girls on varsity were honored with All-District awards.

(From left to right) Junior Rachel Scharfman, a right side hitter and middle blocker, won an Honorable Mention. This was her first year on varsity.

“I felt really proud when I found out I won the award. I personally set a goal for myself to be a starter, and I was for the most part and getting an honorable mention made it that much better. I learned how varsity athletics works and how much work is needed to be put in, and I’m excited to continue it and get even better for next year,” said Scharfman.

Senior Emily Price, a middle blocker, won an Honorable Mention. She spent her second and last year on varsity.

“When I found out I won the award, I finally felt appreciated. Being a middle is hard especially because you don’t always get set, and you don’t always have the most kills. But after hearing the coaches say I had the most successful kills of the season, it was like all of my hard work didn’t go unnoticed,” said Price, who also won a team award of “Offensive Player of the Year.”

Sophomore Rita Lai, a middle blocker, won an Honorable Mention. This was her first year on varsity.

“I was honestly so surprised because there are so many good players in our district. Making varsity sophomore year has taught me so much about how to be a good team player on and off the court. I’m really excited to see what next year has in store for us!” said Lai.

Sophomore Natalie Huynh, a setter, won an Honorable Mention. This was also her first year on varsity.

“I learned this year that I have to work hard so I can be the best of to my ability, and I hope to make an all-district team in the next two years,” said Huynh.

Senior Jenna Wong, a Libero/DS, won Second Team All-District. This was her second and last year on varsity.

“When I found out I won the award I was thrilled! Ever since freshman year, I looked up to the girls that had received the same awards, so I was determined to be like them. Finding out I had finally entered the title of a second team all-district player was a huge success for me that I worked for since freshman year,” said Wong, who was also awarded Clement’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Senior Riley Spengemen, an outside hitter, won First Team All-District. This was her first year on varsity after taking a break from volleyball junior year.

“When I found out that I got First Team All-District, I cried happy tears! I wanted to get either first or second team all-district, but I didn’t really think that it would come true,” said Spengemen, who was also given the Most Valuable Player award for the team.

Two other players, one of them being the Roundup’s very own Editor In Chief, were honored with special team awards.

Senior Esmatu Kamara, an outside hitter, was awarded the Ranger award.

This was her first year on varsity and with Simmons as the head coach.

Senior Abby Gutierrez, an outside hitter and the Roundup’s editor in chief, was presented with the Heart award. This also was her first year on varsity.

The varsity team finished 5th in the district. As the seniors move forward, the underclassmen and juniors continue to train during their offseason in hopes of improving and making playoffs next year.