2021 GODDESS & WARRIOR AWARDS
Lia Wagner
Athena 14 Silver
Goddess
Lia was chosen as 14 Silver’s goddess by her teammates and coaches 💛 Lia truly serves as a leader with her consistent calm, confident and positive composure. Lia constantly gives her all and encourages her teammates to improve during SAQs, practice and tournaments. She hones in on a goal and works hard at successfully accomplishing it. She always knows where to be whether it’s in the front or back row. Her drive and full efforts of trying to keep the ball alive inspires her teammates to be better. She naturally makes smart, strategic choices on the court and betters the ball every time. And the little hand shakey thing she does after making a mistake never ceases to cheer the rest of us up too! Great job Lia!
Adonia Mattson
Athena 14 White
Goddess
Adonia is always a positive force to have on the court and she always has a smile on her face. She also served us a ton at our last tourney! Great work Adonia!
Reese Thomas
Athena 15 Silver
Goddess
Reese brings so much positive and infectious energy to the team at every practice and every match. Her energy is so contagious and has continuously helped the team through critical moments of play. Reese always puts her team first and self second. She always looks for ways to serve her team whether she is on the court or on the sideline. At the Bayview Classic Tournament it was no different. When she was on the sideline, she was always scoping out the other side of the court looking for open areas and relaying the information to her team for them to capitalize on.
Campbell O’Connell
Athena 15 Silver
Goddess
Campbell has become a critical component of our 15 Silver team. She started off the season as a libero, but then fearlessly stepped right into the role of a middle and has OWNED it. She plays with such a unique confidence and evenness and is always fearlessly implementing new skills and strategies. Campbell has developed into such a strong all around player with her stellar defense and dynamite serving. Full effort, full energy is part of Campbell’s daily repertoire and doing what her coaches and teammates ask of her is second nature. Congrats Campbell!!
Grady May Heinle
Athena 13 Gold
Goddess
Grady goes all out every play, every day. She leads by example through her work ethic and never quit attitude. She is a great teammate that works to bring the whole team together on and off the court.
Jackie Carle
Athena 14 Gold
Goddess
Jackie exemplifies our Athena pillars day in and day out: Full energy full effort, Take responsibility for your role, and Be a good teammate. Her work ethic, leadership, and flexibility to learn new roles successfully motivates our team in both up and down times. She's a consistent voice on/off the court with a competitive hunger that drives our team. Voted by her peers as one of our team captains, her spirit and all she consistently brings to this team is truly appreciated!
Cecily O'Sullivan
Athena 12 Gold
Goddess
Cecily is a team leader on the court and off. She consistently works hard in practices, is always coachable, and is quick to volunteer to carry gear/equipment when needed. She is a great teammate and is always positive and encouraging.
Ashley Larsen
Athena 16 White
Goddess
Ashley exemplifies what being an Athena Goddess means. She works hard to improve every day, does everything she is asked with amazing enthusiasm (including playing multiple positions throughout tournaments), brings amazing energy to our team whether she is on the court or off, and is always being a positive force with all of her teammates. She is a key reason why the 16 White team went undefeated in Power League this season.
Michael Shin
Ajax 16
Warrior
Michael is always thinking about motivating and helpful things to say to his team in hard times and when individual people get down to help lift them back up. That’s way more than just an on the court teammate💜 He also brings extra water to practice... just in case someone might forget theirs. Great job, great season Michael!
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Rachel Peterson
Athena 15 Gold
Goddess
Rachel Peterson is a player that consistently embodies the ATHENAVB pillars. Rachel genuinely has the interest of the team ahead of her individual interest. She is continually looking for ways to help others, even outside our team by carrying bags and holding doors for strangers. She has stayed behind with an injured player and often accompanies a teammate that is sent on an errand so they are not alone. No matter if Rachel is in the line up or not, she builds her teammates up so her team can be as successful as possible. Rachel gives everything she has to her team on and off the court.
Emily DeMarti
Athena 12 Silver
Goddess
Emily is always being willing to play any position that is needed, a source of encouragement and positivity for the entire team, and always giving 100%!
Kiana Mafinejad
Athena 12 Black
Goddess
During a time when it can be hard to read a player because of masks, I never have to question with Kiana. Her eyes are always engaged and you can just see the joy in her eyes no matter if she is cheering her teammates on from the bench or out on the court. It’s pretty awesome to see such a young player have the same consistent attitude that doesn’t seem to be impacted by circumstances. I love that Kiana is willing to make a different kind of mistake when I ask her to try something that might push her out of her comfort zone. She is one of the most coachable players I have ever had the privilege of coaching. We have been doing weekly “homework” challenges on our team and of course there is a reward for whoever does the most reps of whatever the challenge of the week is. We had a hitting approach challenge and one of our players did 1000 approaches! For a platform wall work challenge we had a player put in 10 hours outside of practice! Incredible!!! Kiana did not win either of those challenges, but seeing the amount of effort other teammates were putting in outside of practice she decided to do the same even after the challenge was over. Last week she did 1047 approaches at home. No reward. She just did it because it would make her better, and a teammate that makes herself better makes her team better. That’s Athena volleyball right there.
Savanna Stewart
Athena 16 Onyx
Goddess
Savanna was chosen as Onyx's goddess by her teammates with Coach's solid approval. Per her team, Savanna is the type of teammate who "is always encouraging and leaves everything on the court." As our libero, Savanna plays a vital support role both on and off the court and her teammates recognize all the ways she supports them; covering their hits, getting quality second touches on poor passes, seeing the court and helping hitters by calling hit spots, controlling freeballs and dominating serve receive. Players also mention how her voice is always heard during the game and she always has a positive comment or cheer. As a coach, Savanna is a dream to coach. She works hard, listens to the goals of a drill and works hard to achieve that goal or better her skills or that of her teammates. She balances having fun with an intensity that drives our team to improve. She puts in time outside of our practices to better herself and always looks for more ways to put the team and her teammates first.
Emma Burlingame
Athena 17 Gold
Goddess
Emma has been an incredible servant-leader for 17g who understands how to come in first. She is first to set up or break down the nets, she is first to encourage her teammates, she is first to believe in them, she is first to volunteer for new drills, she is first to ask questions and learn, and she is first to be vulnerable and ask for more reps in something she is improving. It is no wonder that she was also first in her teammate’s minds to be a captain.