The Hive was buzzing on November 20 as faculty, staff and students celebrated Eastfield’s Volleyball Team championship win. The players had just come back from the championship game in Cedar Springs, Iowa, where they faced Brookhaven, a tough team to beat. Eastfield Harvester Bees (31-1) beat Brookhaven (18-13) 25-17, 25-14, 25-16.
“[Brookhaven] was a really good team and gave us a little bit of a challenge during the season,” MVP Mia Santos said.
For the third time in a row, the team won first place in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championship. Head coach, Phil Nickel, feels especially ecstatic about the win.
Nickel is committed to keeping the momentum going with his philosophy of being a balanced, cohesive unit, and to dominate with the help of returning players.
“Madison Mosley and Mylah Arzaga were both named to the all-tournament team at Nationals, and they’ll both be returning, as well as Patience Gibson, who was a big player for us all year,” Nickel said. “We’ll look for them to continue working hard this spring, set the tone and provide guidance to the new players and mentor the younger players.”
The team prepared well and was ready to win. “Over the last three years our record is 102 and a bunch of those wins are against division one junior colleges,” Nickel said.
Considered the hardest working team in the district, Arzaga said, “We were the only team in the conference that did Saturday practices and it really showed in Iowa.”
Arzaga is motivated to continue working hard for next season. “Everybody could use more work,” she said. “[Staying] consistent [with] having your outside hitter, your middle or your right side just to go up and be able to swing and put the ball down.”
Defensive Player of the Week Mosley says she wants to “be more aggressive and effective on the court.” She added: “This year was special. I have come a long way and I just hope to build on that.”
Looking forward to the new year, Nickel said: “We have a really good group coming back. Some really good players have already signed, so we’re expecting a powerful team next year.”
