This year, two freshmen made the girls varsity volleyball team: Annika Ellwanger and Audrey Moss. Ellwanger has been playing volleyball for four years, and Moss for five. Both girls attended Lamar Middle School and played volleyball together there for two years, as well as playing club volleyball for Roots Volleyball.

“I was not expecting to make varsity at all,” Moss said. “I was very excited, I actually cried.”

Ellwanger had a similar reaction.

“I was really shocked, actually, but I am happy that I am here now,” Ellwanger said.

Moss and Ellwanger look forward to the district games, which started on Sept. 9. The varsity volleyball team is usually composed of a majority of upperclassmen, this year with more freshmen than usual.

“Annika had her skills in the tryouts steadied,” said varsity coach Amy Brodbeck. “She was constant in her passing, her hitting and her serving.”

Ellwanger is excited to be a part of the Knights’ varsity volleyball team this year. She looks forward to playing in a new environment.

“I am looking forward to the competition in district play and getting to play against and with many of the older girls that I look up to,” Ellwanger said.

Brodbeck mentioned how the dynamic on the court changes with the new, younger girls and how the older varsity members have been supportive teammates by helping them out.

“Audrey had some explosive hits that I saw, and recently I’ve seen her steadiness,” Brodbeck said.

Moss decided to start playing volleyball five years ago, when she wanted something athletic to do that she really enjoyed. She moved to Austin from a town outside Houston called Sugar Land the summer before her seventh grade year.

“I always love having freshmen on the team,” said senior captain Lexi Rosenblatt. “These two especially, they work so hard and you can tell that they don’t take their spots for granted. You can tell that they’re putting in the outside work and they really want to be there, and it’s really great.”

Rosenblatt was on varsity her freshman year and relates to how the new girls on the court feel.

“Seeing them experience being freshmen on varsity, since I also had that experience, they have a special place in my heart because I remember being in the position so well, and it feels really full circle to me,” Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt noticed the hard work Ellwanger and Moss were putting in at tryouts, and how well they got along with the rest of the girls on the team.

“Honestly, sometimes I forget they’re freshman because they blend in with the team so well, it’s not just playing up, but their maturity level, which I really admire because I don’t think that I did that as a freshman,” Rosenblatt said.

For a coach, having young girls on a team made up of mostly older girls changes the feel of the team.

“The dynamic has changed; all the kids were excited about having them both there,” said Brodbeck. “They saw their skill level during tryouts and were excited. They know that they are young, they’re there to help them, and most of the players have done a really good job of being supportive.”

Brodbeck noticed the communication and leadership skills that the two girls have already shown.

“Annika is already talking in the huddle; she’s not scared to talk with these older girls,” Brodbeck said. “I think Audrey is going to build as a leader as well.”

Coaches play an important role in an athlete’s perspective of the game. Moss and Ellwanger have some coaches who are special to them.

“My first club coach, coach Jose, inspired me to keep playing and do the sport full-time and not just occasionally,” Ellwanger said.

For Moss, her club coach from Austin Junior Volleyball last year, inspired her to look at the game a different way.

“Coach Mark really affected volleyball for me, by not caring about what the score says and focusing on what you and your team need to focus on,” Moss said. “That really helps me in a lot of games and made me focus on better things and not just pressure and the score.”

Moss and Ellwanger are not the only ones excited about their first season on varsity.

“Annika and Audrey are great, and we’re very, very happy to have them with us this year,” Rosenblatt said.