South’s varsity volleyball team had no cuts this year, making the team larger than usual. The team has always been very competitive throughout South history and isn’t common to not cut players off all 3 teams. According to Molly Perkins ’22, this year the team didn’t hold tryouts but instead prepped and worked out before the season started. The coaches assigned players to different teams, but no player was cut from the program.

Perkins made varsity this year. She has been playing volleyball since the sixth grade and played for the JV team during her freshman and sophomore years.

“I joined the team because the girls seemed to be really fun and I had already been playing volleyball,” Perkins said. “It was a good way to get to know people freshman year and have fun.”

Perkins said cuts should be required for most teams because they provide the best lineup for the prime players, and ensure the correct team for each player. Although these are necessary measures to create a well-playing team, Perkins believes that with COVID, there’s an exception.

“The no cuts this year was a good choice because the season is short anyways and there are restrictions due to COVID, so it didn’t really make sense to cut people from the program,” Perkins said. “Plus having a big team is a lot of fun too.”

It’s Kaitlyn Stafford’s ’21 last year playing on the team and first-year with no cuts. Stafford has been actively playing the sport since the sixth grade, and practiced her skills on the JV team her freshman and sophomore year, and furthered her skills on varsity for junior and senior year.

“I am sad that this is my last year playing volleyball for high school and with this group of girls, I’m really going to miss it. We’ve all had a lot of fun together,” Stafford said.

According to Stafford, with the complications and stress from the COVID-19 outbreak, the girls couldn’t practice in the South gym where they normally do. So, the team began practicing outside and had to deal with the craziness, uncertainty and still maintain social distance procedures. However, the girls kept a positive attitude throughout. Stafford agrees that all girls worked hard and earned their spot even if circumstances were peculiar.

“They proved they deserved to be on the team,” Stafford said.