Spike It

The Western Illinois University Volleyball team is having some great success this year. Volleyball is one of my favorite sports to watch and play. So interviewing Head Volleyball Coach April Hall proved to be very interesting.

Coach Hall has been with the WIU family for almost two years now. In those two years, the team has made a lot of progress under her direction. “It’s (working at WIU) been really great…the administration, community, and athletes are extremely supportive; it’s always nice to come into an environment like that. You can’t find that everywhere …this is the full experience,” Coach Hall shared. WIU sure has a way of making students and staff feel welcome and important.

This season for the ladies is going well. They are right on track and where they want to be. As of now, their overall record is 9-12 and their conference record is 3-4. The team is currently preparing for conference games and plan to take it “one match at a time,” as Coach Hall puts it. “This season is good; there are ups and downs but this year we are doing much better than last year,” shared Coach Hall.

As Coach Hall reflects on her time at WIU, she remembered a monumental moment for the team. It was a weekend this season where WIU hosted North Dakota State and South Dakota State and WIU swept both teams. “Everything was in sync, everyone shined and was highlighted; that was the most amazing weekend,” reflected Coach Hall. With proud moments such as this, it makes it very easy to be optimistic for the rest of the season.

The team has been taking on other top teams such as Minnesota, Duke, Ball State, and Northern Illinois. But, they are showing no signs of backing down and are ready to take on Omaha tomorrow, with home court advantage. I, along with many other loyal Leatherneck fans, will be in attendance to cheer the women on!

The team is also taking their talent off of the court. Tonight the team will partner with the Macomb Park District to host a Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness Event. The walk will be held at Veterans Park from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. There will be food and giveaways!

Overall, Coach Hall’s goal is, “To make it to conference games. It’s been 6 years since we were last there, but we will do our very best.” I look forward to seeing the women do their best to make it to conference games  this season. If you would like to keep up with the team, you can visit www.goleathernecks.com.

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