Four teams with the Fort Smith Juniors Volleyball Club are headed to the national championship. Players will compete against some of the best in the country.
“We have been trying since we were 13-years-old and the majority of us have been on the same team since then,” said Merit Jennings, a player.
Jennings started playing volleyball in the third grade. Her team and three others from the club are headed to the national tournament in Columbus, Ohio. “We are so excited and we’re so prepared and we’ve been working so so hard,” said Jennings.
For the first time four teams from the club will compete at a national level. “I wanna be in the top half of the nationals because nobody in our club’s ever done that before,” said Alex Fenwick, a player.
Nearly 50 teams from across the country and Puerto Rico will go head to head at the national tournament. “The competition is amazing. Every team that’s there is going to be a first level team,” said Karen Waack, a coach.
Two-a-day practices start next week. “I think we’re gonna do great. I think we’re really prepared and we practice really hard,” said Nicole Knight, a player.
Teams focus. They work hard these final weeks of practice. “We love it and we love the game, so we’re willing to work for it,” said Jennings.
The national tournament kicks off the last weekend in June.
Girls headed to the finals range in age. The youngest are in the 12-year-old division and the oldest in the 16-year-old division.