Hudson’s class of 2024 volleyball seniors are each committed to continue their athletic and academic careers at Division 1 universities. Seniors Natalie Robinson, Mirabella Iriarte and Sydney Waller will be attending Rutgers, Duquesne and Samford next fall to play volleyball at the collegiate level. Their hard work and determination with club and school athletics paid off in the end.
Robinson says that her senior season was different than her other seasons at Hudson. “We had a tough season this year and didn’t finish the way a lot of people expected us to after last year. But one thing I thought was really great about this season was the connectedness of all the players.”
Robinson points out that each player supported every person on the team. You cannot play well if you do not connect with your teammates. She reveals the volleyball team got closer and strengthened not only their friendships but their skills together. Robinson shares that no matter what happened in practices and games, “the team would come together and find a way to laugh it off, move on and be there for each other.”
The volleyball team is a tight knit group. Iriarte agrees with this statement in sharing, “I feel that we are all very close as a team, almost like family.”
Robinson and Iriarte both shared that their favorite memories were weekly Panera visits with each other before big games. Team bonding is so important to all sport programs, and the volleyball girls know how to have fun and improve as a team, both on and off the court.
While the seniors said goodbye to their season, they are accepting and ready to face the exciting but challenging road ahead of them.
“I am so sad to leave Hudson volleyball and the amazing girls who have made my high school experience so special and something I will never forget,” Iriarte shares. She is attending Duquesne University next fall, a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is looking forward to improving her skills and making new friends.
As Robinson heads off to Rutgers University, a public four-year university in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she shares, “I am going to miss hanging out with my teammates everyday. We had so many inside jokes and they never failed to make me laugh.”
Senior Sydney Waller, will be attending Samford University in Homewood, Alabama. These seniors’ friendships may be tested while away, but they will without a doubt be able to succeed. The distance and new friendships will never take away from the bonds they shared on the court.
This time next year, the girls will be off playing new games with different teams, but they will be carrying the same advice and knowledge of the sport they grew up playing. No different than high school, the players will have to remind themselves why they play.
Robinson says that something she’s learned is to stick with it and stay disciplined. Iriarte shares that this season has taught her “a lot about what you can do with what you are presented with,” and to make the most of every moment, “because before you know it, it’ll be gone.”
All three of the seniors signed off to make it official on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
