With Altoona being down in the first two sets against Cedar Cliff, senior Sydney Stroup begins to worry her family drove two hours for nothing.
Before she could give up, Stroup finds that she has accomplished her 500 career kills after all.
A teammate must set the ball for them to hit or spike. The kill is awarded if the opponent faces a blocking error or fails to return the ball.
“It was a group effort, a very united ideal because it was a game where we were down, it was against a rough team,” senior Julia Kline said. “When she got her 500 kills, it reminded us that we are a team, and as a team, we can produce great things like that.”
To Stroup, volleyball is her life. Not only does she play for the team, but she plays on a club team too.
“Every day revolves around volleyball,” Stroup said. ”I have to travel every weekend for club and then I have practice and games for the school team. It’s everything I do. Eat, sleep, play volleyball, repeat.”
Both Stroup’s coach and her teammates have noticed the dedication and improvement during her high school volleyball career.
“Sydney is a very hardworking individual,” coach John Saboe said. “She has been a player with us for four years. Over those four years, she has continued to develop and come a long way.”
“Sydney is very driven and ambitious,” Kline said. “As a player, I’ve known her for four years on the high school team. She always wants to stay longer at practice, work the hardest and push herself to further limits. It’s really interesting to see.”
Hitting 500 kills has always been a goal for Stroup. She has played volleyball since fourth grade, so this feels amazing for her, and her family, who came along to support.
“Ever since I was a freshman, I’ve talked about wanting to hit 500 kills,” Stroup said. “I didn’t know it was coming up because we don’t put the tournament stats in where we have all of our other game stats, so I was still at 420 kills. My mom told me they were going to make the two hour trip to come watch the game because they knew I was supposed to hit 500. I was nervous because it was not a good game at all, and I still needed 10 kills.”
Her teammates are proud of where she has come and how she goes about life. They enjoy seeing the fun side to her, but also the game face as well.
“Off of the court, Sydney is energetic,” Kline said. There’s days where you can tell she has a lively spirit. On the court, she wants to get it done. She focuses on getting those points. It’s fun to see someone who has that passion all of the time. I hope she can remind herself of what she’s capable of and know she’s a great player.”
Stroup has a lot of wonderful friendship with all of the team and will carry these memories with her for life.
“My team is always so supportive and I love them so much. If it weren’t for them this goal wouldn’t have been possible. I have them to thank for that. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them,” Stroup said.
