Melyka (Mel) West is a junior volleyball player who has been playing the sport for five years. She is regularly a defensive specialist, but sometimes she plays libero. She participates in Struthers school volleyball as well as club volleyball.
After the player’s team wins a game, she feels proud and accomplished because she knows she used her full potential. When they lose, she ends up disappointed because she is a very competitive person. However, she enjoys that after the loss her and her team get the chance to go over things and fix all their mistakes.
West likes both school and club volleyball, but she enjoys club more because of the immense chances she gets to advance her career.
“The difference between school and club volleyball is the environment. I get the opportunity to meet so many different people through club volleyball. Whether its teammates, coaches, parents, and even official judges. I also get more game play during club because we play multiple games a day compared to only one game a day during school. So I get my reps in and get more skill practice,” says West.
Her biggest motivation for the sport has always been having the opportunity to play in college, but her mom also motivates her. She truly just wants to make her mom proud because she has been nothing but supportive throughout her time in volleyball.
The thing the player is most proud of that she did her past year was adjusting to her surroundings.
“My biggest accomplishment was adapting. Before the season started, I was very nervous because I was playing with some people that I have never played before, so I was nervous about adapting to it but I did,” says West.
She has mixed feelings about only having one year of high school left. She has a goal of so many accomplishments before the end of her senior year, but she is excited to play a final season with her girls.
She has been preparing for her last year of high school and her volleyball career recently.
