Wildcats setting up to serve notice through killer conference play

Going in for the kill doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. The girls volleyball squad is currently enjoying a lofty seat in conference rankings, and players are executing their comeback season successfully. Coach Gillian Pakula gives all credit to the team’s mentality.

“Every night we fight to win,” she said. “We like challenges. The girls will rise to the occasion and they want the challenge, which is exciting as a coach.”

For every up, there is always a down.

“We are a young team,” Gillian Pakula said. “We are more experienced than we were last year, but we are still trying to figure some pieces out.” 

The crushing victory over Kimberly left the athletes in high spirits as pep talks before the game produced a winning mindset. 

“We talk a lot about grit and determination and finding a way to fight and finding a way to win,” Gillian Pakula said. “Those are the things we talk about over and over again. You could be equally skilled, but if you want it more and if you fight harder, things will fall into play.”

Junior Caitlyn Potratz never had a doubt going into the Kimberly game.

“We knew we were going to win,” she said. “I feel like we are a strong, powerhouse hitting team, but I also feel like our weakness right now is keeping the momentum going.” 

Senior Paige Seckar concurs with her teammate on such mentality issues.

“We have so much potential,” she said. “I can't wait to see what we’re going to do in the playoffs. I think we start off strong, and we have to keep that energy until the end of the game.”

The senior season always produces a bittersweet feeling. Seckar looks forward to making long-lasting memories while doing what she loves.

“I want to just have fun with my teammates, make it memorable for my last year, and just win as many games as possible,” she said.

Last season, the girls fell to eighth in the conference with an overall record of 15-26. Gillian Pakula sees that disappointment as a stepping stone to getting where they are now.

“Last season was a building year,” she said. “We had some great senior leadership, and that allowed our younger players to grow within the game, and I feel like that catapulted us. I think we’re starting the season where we ended last year, and we are hitting the ground running.”

Senior Avery Pakula puts a lot of faith in the girls’ natural abilities to perform.

“Our strengths are the sheer talent of our girls,” she said. “We’re learning how to work together from many different club teams and different teams from the past.”

The best part about being a senior is the benefits she’ll reap during senior night.

“I'm looking forward to senior night and getting spoiled with gifts from the girls because I’ve done it too many times, so now it's my turn,” Avery Pakula said. 

Junior Nicole Osborne wants the team to end the season with a near perfect record. 

“Our goal this season is to go with our only loss being Appleton North,” she said.

Osborne believes the greatest part of the program lies in relationships.

“My biggest takeaway is all the new friends,” she said. “It’s just a great program to be in, and it's very successful.”

Avery Pakula has a different opinion.

“My biggest takeaway from the program is the love that our coaches have for it and the joy that I have when I step on the court wearing an Oshkosh West jersey,” she said.  

Seckar absorbed a variety of lessons under the program's tutelage. 

“I’ve learned how to be a teammate and how to be coachable,” she said “I’ve always learned to just have a good time and even when you lose, just to be positive and keep that same energy.”

Gillian Pakula recognizes this energy, as well as the desire to win.

“We are hungry,” she said. “We’re still growing and improving every match and it's a fight.”

Countless hours and conditioning in the gym all points to one direction.

“I feel like our goal overall is to contend for the top of the conference,” Gillian Pakula said. “We have never once said that we will be conference champions, but we are on a path and any given night anyone could lose a match. We hope someone beats someone else, but also we have to take care of business.”

Avery Pakula lives by one saying.

“We have nothing to lose and we have everything to prove.”

by Sophie Carlin

Published October 2 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue I