Hello! My name is Heather Myklebust and I am a freshman outside hitter from Sugar Land, Texas. This past week has been an interesting one for Wingate Volleyball. Last week, we played our only match against Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday (Oct. 23). We were fortunate to walk away with yet another victory.

Our overall record improves to 27-1 with the Lenoir-Rhyne victory. We plan on adding a few more wins to close out our season. On Wednesday (Oct. 24), we came in for a good practice to earn the day off on Thursday.

Coach Collier gave us a practice off (Thursday) so that we were able to make a team trip to SCarowinds, the local theme park that’s “haunted” during the Halloween season. When Thursday arrived, we thought that our trip might be cancelled due to inclement weather, but we were determined that nothing would stand in our way.

The weather actually cleared up for the most part, but drizzled on us every once in a while. We had a blast riding all the rides, especially because we didn’t have to wait in any lines. The haunted houses were SO scary, but it was tons of fun to see everyone's reaction. There were these creepy people dressed up in scary outfits that walked next to our big group taunting a few of our players who in turn, FREAKED out (cough, cough, Stormi and Luke). I think walking through those haunted houses actually brought our team closer together. We linked arms and had certain people lead the way through the dark, so overall, the trip was a great team bonding experience.

After our fun-filled evening out at the theme park, it was back to work on Friday with a focused practice. Saturday was our day off, but we all went to the swim meet to support our swimmers who are amazingly dedicated fans of our volleyball team. They play a huge role in our victories at home. We are so thankful for their support. One of our players, Rachelle Rostas, made t-shirts for us that spelled out “WU VB < 3 SPEEDOS.” We walked into the natatorium, revealed our shirts and cheered our team on like maniacs! It was so much fun to return the favor of supporting our fellow Bulldogs.

Our new week began with a late practice on Sunday evening to prepare us for our big match on Tuesday (Oct. 30) against Newberry College. We will come in once again on Monday evening to have a “tune-up” practice to better prepare us before our departure on Tuesday. The Newberry game is going to be huge for us, so everyone please keep us in your thoughts. We are hoping to come out on top Tuesday night.

We will be looking forward to two more home games on Friday and Saturday night. We hope to see you there, especially because Friday night will be our “Senior Night.” Saturday is “Dig For the Cure,” when we will be raising money for a breast cancer awareness foundation called Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. We will be raising money with every dig on Saturday night, so come out and support the cause and Wingate Volleyball…Don’t forget to THINK PINK!