To our team, thank you for allowing us to end our collegiate careers by creating history. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for buying into the vision of what we wanted our season to be and what we’ve always wanted it to be. Thank you for creating a family and sticking together through all of the cracks.

It took three years, but we did it. There’s no team like us. No one else is going to break out in dance battles during a timeout or do a catwalk before the game to Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love.” You all have provided a home in the chaos of what the last four years have been for us. We’re grateful it was this team we got to accomplish this season with. Every single person was integral to creating our family.

To our newest members, our first-years, you all make us so incredibly excited for the future of this program. When we look at you, you remind us how far we’ve come. We started just like you and can’t wait to see the people you become and watch you lead this program to an even better future than we can imagine. You committed to building relationships on this team and taught us how to be better teammates, leading through empathy.

To our second-years, you truly brought the joy of playing to this program. You raised the bar in discipline, and your love for the sport of volleyball is contagious. Each of your diverse perspectives and personalities taught us how to be better leaders through listening and making sure each voice was heard. When you joined this program, you reignited each of our loves for this sport. We can’t wait to watch each of your flames grow.

To our third-years, you are the core of our little family. We shared our first season with you, and you’ve grounded this team for the last three years. You started us on our leadership journey and have instilled confidence in us with your trust as we’ve grown up together. While you may not feel ready, we have full confidence in your ability to lead the team. You don’t even know how much the underclassmen look up to you and how much of a leader you already are. As we pass the baton onto you, we have a couple things we’ve learned. First, the person always comes before the player, and your worth is never determined by your performance on the court. Lead with empathy, and compassion will follow. Second, em- brace your own leadership style. The way each of you lead doesn’t have to be the same, and it won’t be the same. Everyone on the team brings something special, and it’s our differences that build our community. Lastly, change is a good thing. Over our four years, we’ve learned that, even though change is scary, good can always come from it. Two years ago, Stanny joined the program and transformed how each of us see the game of volleyball for the best. Without change, we could not have built the program we have today.

As our lives are about to change, we know we will always have a home here and can call OCVB our family, and we can’t thank you all enough for that.

Peace, love, volleyball.

When asked how it felt to be nearing the end of their careers, soccer player Brynn Adams, volleyball player Lauren Sands, and soccer player Nasim Amer all described it as “bittersweet.”

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Adams said. “I think that’s what every senior would’ve said. I mean, Oberlin soccer is the most special team that I have ever been a part of, and I’ve been very lucky to have a great experience with great coaches and great people.”

Sands emphasized the commitment it takes to be a collegiate athlete and how strange it feels for it to be coming to a close.

“I have been playing volleyball for about half my life, so it has been a really big part of my life,” Sands said. “And the fact that it’s coming to an end is sad, but I’m feeling good about it, ready to move on,” Sands said.

Amer highlighted that his first season on the team was a COVID-19 season, so he has had the same amount of playing time as all of the juniors on the team. Nonetheless, he relishes the time that he has spent competing as a Yeoman.

“I think the time that I’ve been here was very enjoyable, even though over the years our record wasn’t the best, or we maybe didn’t get as many wins as we hoped,” Amer said. “It’s a great group of guys and I enjoyed playing with them, every practice and every game.”

The seniors had been a part of Senior Nights in the past, but always as underclassmen. All three athletes mentioned how meaningful it was to be supported and celebrated by their teammates and the student body, but for Amer, his Senior Night was extra special.

“That game, that was the first game my parents ever came to watch me play live at Oberlin, so for me, I was just trying my best to have a good game,” Amer said. “You know, ultimately I just wanted to get the win but maybe score a goal for them. I ended up scoring and we didn’t win the game, but I scored and it was nice. When your parents are watching, you may play a bit harder.”

Although he wishes that the team still had a chance to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, Amer’s individual career ended on an incredibly high note — winning the NCAC Athlete of the Week Award.

“That was amazing,” Amer said. “I was talking to my mom the other day, saying ‘It sucks not having a freshman season but it kinda feels like everything is wrapping up in a really nice way.’ It’s nice to win the individual achievement but all the guys on the team, they helped me with that.”

Sands admitted that her Senior Night felt completely different to the others that she has been a part of and that she was grateful for the support of her friends and teammates.

“The fact that everyone was there celebrating me and my teammates in my class, all of our accomplishments, it was very meaningful and emotional — definitely more emotional than my other senior nights,” Sands said. “[The emotions] definitely were with me when I stepped on the court, especially because I had my family there watching, it just felt like a really big moment.”

Adams acknowledged that her Senior Night was a bit of an out-of-body experience, since it truly signaled that her time as a Yeowoman was quickly coming to a close.

“It was surreal, it kinda felt fake,” Adams said. “It was weird until the moment I realized they were going to be calling my name and be talking about me. We have our locker room decorated every Senior Night and then I realized my locker would be decorated and so when I walked in there I was like, ‘Oh crap, it’s about me and it’s real.’”

The women’s soccer team has a motto that represents what their team stands for and the bonds that have been formed and strengthened within the team. Adams was happy to use the same motto as a way to sum up her career at Oberlin.

“We say this saying on our team, we say, ‘OC Love’ all the time,” Adams said. “We’ve defined the letters, we’ve picked words to define the ‘L-O-V-E’ that we use as our core values as a team. But we always say ‘OC Love,’ we’ll sign things ‘OC Love,’ and I think that’s a good definition of my career. Just OC Love.”

Growing up in San Diego, Sweet’s first love was basketball. She did not start playing volleyball until sixth grade, when she joined a recreational team, and didn’t join her first club team for two more years. 

“I started club [volleyball] in eighth grade,” Sweet said. “I was not good. I was actually terrible. I was so bad in my first tournament my coach told the setter not to set me anymore. They just put me up there to block. I was just a big girl on the team.” 

The same coach, Coach Liz, became one of Sweet’s biggest mentors.

“She was willing to work with me and saw the potential in me,” Sweet said. “I would go in for individuals and privates pretty much every weekend. I would stay after, and we would drill it over and over and over. I went to every workout she held, getting me to hit how she wanted me to hit and getting me to block how she wanted me to. I was super dedicated that year. I always thank her for seeing the potential in me and not just seeing me as another ‘tall girl.’”

Now, over six years later, rather than avoiding setting her, the team does everything they can to get her the ball for what she calls the best feeling in volleyball: a hard overpass. It’s tied for first with a stuff block.

The women’s volleyball team has jumped to a 10–3 start this year. Sweet partially credits their success to dance parties. If you do not see the team on time for warmups at home games, do not worry. They are getting down to Sweet’s favorite artist, Childish Gambino, or Beyonce’s “Energy.” 

“Before games, we’re in the locker room dancing,” Sweet said. “We are literally having a dance party. No skills work, no game talk, nothing. We turn on some good music and dance there.”

The tradition started this year in their first tournament, when Sweet shared AirPods with fourth-year setter Taylor Gwynne. 

“We were dancing to music because we wanted to get warm,” Sweet said. “We didn’t want to do another warmup. We killed it in that game. After that, we thought, ‘Let’s just have a dance party before every game.’ That’s why we went on that nine-game winning streak.” 

Sweet also mentioned that the team’s only three losses this season came when they did not have a pregame dance party. 

When Sweet joined the team as a first-year, she was comforted by the racial diversity of the team and a team culture that celebrates diversity. Today, nearly half of the team are women of color.

“When I came in, the team was almost 50 percent Black, which is almost unheard of for volleyball; that never happens,” Sweet said. “It was really fun to come into a team where I could share my culture and [be around] people who can share my experiences, and we can talk about those things.”

The success and atmosphere the team created this season can, in part, be accredited to hardships the program faced last year. Last year, in a non-conference away game, the opposing team’s student section yelled racial slurs at one of Sweet’s teammates. 

“It was a really hard thing for all of us to go through,” Sweet said. “But it made us stronger, coming together and being able to stand up against something like that and supporting each other through that. This year, we were asked to play them again, and the whole team stood together and said, no, we’re not going to give them the privilege of playing us because we were wronged by the culture of that school. After that talk, we had one of the best practices we’ve had all season. It showed the unity and love that we have within the team. People know they are going to have to fight for things  they maybe never had to think about before, but that mindset really brings us together.” 

The team’s connection stems deeper than volleyball. Their relationship is rooted in perseverance and being there for one another. 

“We sent a message to any other team that plays us: we’re not going to take you saying anything to any of our teammates,” Sweet said. “Any other team in our conference and all across DIII, you have the power to make these decisions. We have a responsibility to take care of our POC teammates and to make sure that we all come together in support of one another.”

There were many notable performances during the tournament among Oberlin’s athletes. With 95 assists over the course of the weekend, fourth-year setter Taylor Gwynne was named the tournament MVP and the North Coast Athletic Conference player of the week. Third-year outside hitter Andréa Jones was also named to the all-tournament team, totalling 22 kills throughout the weekend. As a team, the Yeowomen hit .311 average over the course of the tournament.

Gwynne said that the support from her teammates was a major factor toward the team’s success over the weekend.  

“One of the things that I’m most proud of is how the team worked together this weekend,” Gwynne said. “I think we were all super supportive of each other. We picked each other up, we celebrated each other’s wins really well, and we all were working to make sure that each one of us could shine.” 

Second-year outside hitter Zeynep Kaya, who totaled seven aces over the weekend, agreed with Gwynne that the energy on the court allowed everyone to play well. 

“Everyone was so positive. I think that is the most important factor,” Kaya said. “When I looked around, I only saw smiling faces, and I just couldn’t help but smile all the time and feel the energy.” 

Head Coach Erica Rau wrote  in an email to the Review that team spirit combined with technical play were the main aspects that helped guide them to success. 

“We served really tough, our hitters stayed aggressive, and our team chemistry and energy were phenomenal,” Rau wrote. “The team found their ideal performance state, and they were grooving!”

According to Kaya, the team has been particularly intentional about their energy this year. “Solar Energy” is one of their team values, which represents an “unlimited, renewable” spirit. 

“Solar energy is one of our core values, and I think that’s the real factor that makes us successful this year. We put an extra effort to be a team in and outside of the court,” Kaya said. “[Solar energy] stands for always trying to be positive and support everyone on the team with our energy.” 

In addition, Kaya pointed out that the team’s training on strategic aspects of the game also contributed to their wins. 

“As a team, I think we put an extra effort on our serve receiving this year, and it was reflected on the court a lot,” Kaya said. “Since we were good at serve receiving, we were able to narrate the game.” 

Moving forward, the Yeowomen are looking to further improve both technical and mental aspects of their game. 

“We want to keep improving each day at practice and during each match,” Rau wrote. “We need to keep up our consistency and keep pushing forward.” 

Kaya said that the most important thing for the team is to refine their skills and keep their momentum going. 

“We really want to focus on our serve receiving and serving at practices,” Kaya said. “We want to continue to play like this, and most importantly, we just want to keep the energy like this all the time.” 

Gwynne mentioned that the team is aiming to improve communication and strategy moving forward. 

“This year we’re still working on our communication and our chemistry. There’s some practical things that we’re working on in terms of our defense and our offensive strategy,” she said. “Every day we go into practice, we have new things to work on and we’re constantly getting better.” 

Gwynne was also careful to note that despite the success, the team is not complacent.

“I’m excited to continue to get better as a team throughout the season,” she said. “We definitely haven’t peaked yet.” 

The Yeowomen are set to face off against the Kenyon Owls on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Philips Gymnasium. All home matches can be streamed on the Oberlin Sports Network. 

This past January, the NCAA made changes to rules surrounding on and offseason practice scheduling starting this semester. Specifically, they have changed the measurement for the length of the season from weeks to days.

“A new playing seasons structure for all sports besides football will be established that eliminates weeks as a measurement for a season,” the NCAA website says. “This establishes a traditional start and end date for fall and spring segments, increases the nontraditional segment interaction from 16 to 24 days, measures the winter sports season by 114 days with the flexibility to use eight days before or after the season, and measures seasons for sports such as golf, rowing, and tennis by 114 days.”

The changes to the rules will likely equate to a more intense or longer offseason, which the NCAA calls “nontraditional segment interaction.”

Natalie Dufour, a third-year middle hitter on the volleyball team, appreciates what the offseason can do for her individually and for the team as a whole. She asserts that the offseason is really what athletes make of it, and that individuals and teams who work incredibly hard will then see the results and rewards in the fall.

“In my past couple of years here, what [the offseason] has looked like is practice three times a week, and also we lift twice a week when we have practices with coaches,” Dufour said. “It’s more focused on individual skills and breaking down mechanics, while during the season in the fall, we’re much more focused on team dynamics and building those connections.”

Since volleyball is a fall sport, the team begins competition around the beginning of the school year. Due to the immediacy of the season, volleyball players, like all fall athletes, must treat the summer as a continuation of their offseason. Dufour said players must maintain their fitness and practice regularly during the summer in order to compete well in the fall.

Myranda Montoye, a fourthyear on the cross country and track & field teams, agreed with Dufour’s statements. She said that since track is such a technique and effort based sport, not training regularly will have immediate detrimental effects to runners’ speeds and times.

“The sport of running doesn’t allow you to take much time off because it’s not really a skillbased sport — you have to run,” Montoye said. “If you take more than a week or two off, you’re losing fitness.”

Montoye joined the cross country team this year as additional offseason training for her track season. She runs the 400-meter, which is a quarter-mile, either one lap around the outdoor track or two laps around the indoor track. She said that her issue is less her speed and more her endurance in the race, and that cross country training will improve her endurance and track results greatly.

Gavin Girard, a third-year defender on the men’s lacrosse team, is also in favor of the intensity and workload in the offseason. Lacrosse has three scrimmages in the fall offseason, two against other colleges and one against alumni. The rest of their offseason includes practices and additional lifting.

“Typically, we’ll go three times a week, go for about two hours, but in reality it’s more [like] two and a half hours with stretching and all that kind of stuff,” Girard said. “But it’s pretty intense once we get going.”

Girard, alongside multiple Yeomen on the lacrosse team, competed in a summer league to maintain his fitness and skills. He echoed the sentiments of both Dufour and Montoye.

“Absolutely [the offseason] helps,” Girard said. “I think especially with a huge [first-year] class of guys coming in who are learning the ropes of things, having the time and scrimmaging in the fall is huge for building that chemistry we’re gonna need.”

Volleyball’s next game is today in Wooster against St. Mary’s College of Indiana, lacrosse has its alumni game Saturday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m., and track and field will likely start their season around early December.

The men’s cross country team, led by fourth-year captains Chase Sortor and Sam Russ, took home its first North Coast Athletic Conference Championship this season. To top off the championship win, Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Ray Appenheimer, Associate Head Cross Country Coach Izzy Alexander, and Volunteer Assistant Coach Anna Scott, OC ’22, took home NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year for the men’s division. Cross country now looks toward the NCAA Great Lakes Regional tournament and the NCAA Championships in the coming weeks. Fourth-years Niels Vanderloo and Sunniva Sheffield earned NCAC first-team honors, followed by fellow fourth-years Ross D’Orfani, Sam Russ, and Matthew Walton, third-year Eliza Medearis, second-years Walter Moak, Jonah Barber, and Sage Reddish earning NCAC second-team.

On the flip side, football’s performance has been disappointing, with a 0–9 record thus far. However, the Yeomen have had close, hard-fought battles against Kalamazoo College, Alvernia University, and Kenyon College. Notable performances came from the team captains: fourth-year and quarterback Chris Allen Jr., who threw 11 touchdowns with only eight interceptions, and fifth-year Brian Colarusso, who leads the team thus far in both receiving yards and touchdowns.

Although they began this season with 12 incoming first-years making up nearly half the team and a brand new head coach, women’s soccer has been another one of Oberlin Athletics’ bright spots this fall season, finishing with a winning record of 7–6–2. In the postseason, second-year Heather Benway was named NCAC’s Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, third-year Brynn Adams and second-year Sofia Mitchell earned NCAC second team honors, and second-year Zoe Garver earned third team honors.

“Starting a new season with a new coach is always a hard thing to settle into,” fourth-year midfielder Camille Franklin said. “[Head Women’s Soccer] Coach Taylor Houck made it a priority to make sure the team felt comfortable with her and with each other. [She] always told us that our greatest strength was the love we have for each other.”

Men’s soccer had an up and down season this fall, going 5–7–3 overall and 1–4–3 in conference games with well-earned draws against Denison University, DePauw University, and Wooster and a triumphant 5–1 victory against Hiram College. This team was spearheaded by experienced captains: fourth-year Jon Schafer, fourth-year Zack Butter, and second-year Anthony Pacewicz. Second-year Toby Wells-Zimmerman led the team with 16 points and 40 shots taken while tying for second in the NCAC with six assists, and Pacewicz came in clutch for the Yeomen, scoring two game-winners and putting up an additional goal and assist for seven points on the season. As a result, Pacewicz and Wells-Zimmerman earned NCAC second-team and third-team honors, respectively.

Field hockey has not seen copious amounts of success the last few years, but it banded together to win some crucial games this season, finishing with a 4–12 record, its best season since 2013. The team proved to be mentally tough, emerging victorious in both games this season that went to a penalty shootout, and third-year defender Abbie Patchen earned her NCAC third-team honors for the second year in a row.

“We have grown so much as a team,” fourth-year goalie Post said. “I think the biggest way is how we continue to treat each other with grace, motivate each other on and off the field, and push each other to be better athletes.”

Oberlin’s volleyball team, led by captains third-year Andréa Jones, third-year Taylor Gwynne, and fourth-year Zoe Kuzbari, started its fall season off well, winning six of their first seven games. However, the wheels fell off toward the end of the season, resulting in a 7–16 finish. Second-year Cami Sweet and fourth-year Iyanna Lewis also earned NCAC second and third-team honors for volleyball, respectively.

Although the team didn’t achieve all the results they hoped for, Jones highlighted the importance of the team’s culture and relationships.“I felt like we had a winning season within the improvement of our chemistry as a team, and I feel like that is the most important part of being on a team — making sure that every one of us has each other’s back as we go through the tough times as a team,” Jones said. “I have never felt more supported by a team that I call family.”

Although some teams, such as men’s and women’s soccer, who will have an abbreviated season this spring during which coaches will be able to return and work with their teams, and many cross country runners, who will transition to winter track, most are preparing to stay in shape for unofficial winter training, when they can receive no coaching per NCAA rules and regulations.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Courtesy of Lucas Draper

The Men’s soccer team honored seniors Jon Schafer, Alec Gembala, Jesper Soelvberg, and Zack Butter before kickoff.

In the past few weeks, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, and field hockey all paid homage to their graduating classes through senior night games.

The first honorees were men’s soccer fourth-years Jon Schafer, Alec Gembala, Jesper Soelvberg, and Zack Butter, who were all recognized prior to the team’s Oct. 19 match against Hiram College. The Yeomen sent them out in style with a dominant victory over the Terriers, recording a blowout score of 5–1. Goals were spread out evenly throughout the depth chart, with Schafer capitalizing off a corner for a remarkable header at the 55th minute mark and second-year Xander Francoeur putting in his seventh goal at the 72nd minute mark, the most made on the team this year.

For Gembala, the last game was a touching moment, but he was glad he celebrated with his teammates, especially since the four seniors had a lot of playing time together for their final game on Fred Shults Field.

“Having the guys on the soccer team has been great for me,” Gembala wrote in an email to the Review. “I don’t think my experience here would have been nearly as good without them. The last game of the season was pretty emotional, as soccer has been part of my entire life and even more important these past few years. I would say I am pretty lucky to have played this game and make the type of friends I have.”

A particular spotlight was cast on fourth-year Camille Franklin, the team’s only women’s soccer graduating member, during their matchup against Ohio Wesleyan University this past Saturday. Though the game ended in a tie, the Yeowomen put on a formidable performance against the Battling Bishops. As the night’s honoree, Franklin did not disappoint. The midfielder had a strong defensive performance and almost secured an Oberlin victory with a narrowly missed shot that bounced off the goal. Along with Franklin, third-year goalkeeper Benji Maddox put on a stellar showing, shutting the opposing offense out entirely in both halves. After Franklin’s final match, the team carried her above their heads with joy and celebrated the end of her collegiate career.

“I loved being a part of this team for four years,” she said. “There is something so special about Yeo Athletics. I have made so many amazing friendships while I was here, and I am so sad to leave. I have achieved so much at Oberlin College, and I am so thankful for everyone that has supported me along the way.”

Volleyball celebrated fourth-years Lucy Myers, Iyanna Lewis, Lindsey Felton and Zoe Kuzbari Friday prior to their game against Alma College. In a back-and-forth five-set rollercoaster, the Yeowomen were unfortunately unable to emerge victorious and lost with a final score of three sets to two. Myers put on a stellar showcase in her final game at Oberlin, producing a career-high 53-assists.

“Although it wasn’t the result we hoped for, it was a tough fought game,” Myers said. “We’re hopeful that it gave us the energy and momentum we need as we enter conference play this coming weekend! My favorite part of my volleyball career at Oberlin has been my teammates and the lifelong friendships I’ve formed. I wouldn’t be the player I am today without my team, and it’s been exciting to see how far we’ve come these past seasons.”

Before its Saturday match against The College of Wooster, field hockey honored four seniors — fourth-years Jackie Oh, Post, Vanessa Baker, and Meredith Warden — on Bailey Field. Like volleyball, the Yeowomen lost in close fashion to the Scots, with a stinging final score of 1–0. However, senior goalkeeper Post provided a great performance, making six key saves throughout the match.

“The arch of growth during my time at Oberlin is the best it possibly could’ve been,” Post wrote in an email to the Review. “Senior day was incredibly special: my teammates, coaches, and senior parents made a huge effort to honor us. Getting my 100th save in the season in that game also made it special. The mark the team has left on me is hard to describe: my teammates taught me how important the pursuit of passion is, how to assume grace in ourselves and one another, and most of all how to celebrate family. Really couldn’t have asked for a better experience this fall!”

Football will honor its seniors Saturday, Nov. 12 at a home game against Wooster, and cross country will honor its seniors at the end of outdoor track season in the spring. We at the Review wish the very best to our graduating athletic class!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What made you pick Oberlin?

I knew that I really wanted to play volleyball in college, and I also wanted to go to a small liberal arts school that was known for its academics., so I started reaching out to coaches and going through the recruiting process. In the end, it was down to two schools: Oberlin and a school in Pennsylvania, and I visited both. When I got to Oberlin and saw the campus, I really disliked it. I told my mom, “I can’t go here. It is way too flat and none of the buildings match.” Then during my tour, the tour guide was really nice, and then I met the team for one practice. We had dinner afterward at the Feve, and I was introduced to the legendary tater tots.

Immediately I felt like something clicked. I felt like I could automatically have a home and a place where I fit in. Also, it was a very diverse team — people from all over the country, from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, which is really cool because I haven’t been exposed to that being on a volleyball team in the middle of rural Kentucky. The other school I visited was my perfect location and ideal campus, but the team was full of a bunch of white girls from Pennsylvania. I was like, “I can’t do this again, ’cause this is my high school.” When I chose Oberlin, I knew it was the right choice when my number — number 11 — was open. And it has been the right choice.

How has your experience on the team been?

It’s been really incredible. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through my first year without the girls on the team. You have this group of people that are never going away because you love each other, you’re there for each other. We are all sisters in a way. It’s also been nice being part of the athlete community, having this group of people who I know I can be like, “Oh, I saw your game,” and automatically start conversations.

What else do you do on campus?

I’m the Vice President of Academic Affairs on Student Senate. In my role this year, I’ve been meeting with various individuals and groups like the Academic Advising Resource Center, the library board, which I’m on, Dean Kamitsuka, and students on our committee. We try to figure out how we can best enhance the academic experience of students on campus and make sure that students know that the administration and the student government want to listen to them and their concerns.

I’m also a part of Sunrise; I’ve been part of it the whole time I’ve been at Oberlin. Sunrise is an environmental justice organization that works under the banner of the Green New Deal, and I worked in a similar climate justice organization during high school. We’re currently working on affordable and sustainable housing in the city of Oberlin, so it’s great getting to work with the local government and officials and dealing with climate problems that really affect all of us.

Finally, I’m also a Peer Advising Leader. Last semester, all the PALs taught a course on climate change. I got to talk about one of my passions and also connect with students who maybe weren’t fully decided about Oberlin.

What academic areas are you interested in, and what are your majors and minors if you have decided yet?

I am planning on declaring a Politics major and Spanish and French minors. When I was trying to think about what I wanted to major in, I was talking to my mom because I was like, “All these colleges are asking me to put what my preferred major is or what I wanna study. I don’t know what I wanna major in.” She said “Natalie, what do you care about? What do you want to do with your life?” I just told her, “I wanna help people.” Politics seemed to be a way that I could work to maybe enact large-scale change in our society.

A year ago, I applied for the Cole Scholars Program, and I was one of 11 students accepted. We took an electoral politics class last spring semester and were placed on political campaigns across the country. I went home for the summer to work on Charles Booker’s race. He is running against Rand Paul, one of the current Kentucky senators in the U.S. Senate. Booker is the person who inspired me to be interested in politics in the first place; he seemed like he actually cared about the people that he was representing rather than money, power, or things that it seems other politicians primarily care about.

It was great to be able to go back and work for his campaign. I got to meet so many great people and see that change is possible in an extremely rural and red-voting state like Kentucky. I’ve continued working for the campaign this fall, and I’m actually going back this weekend for Election Day so I can do everything I can to push for this victory that Kentucky really needs.

When I was younger, I was a competitive figure skater, but the sport grew extremely isolating. I knew I wanted to experience playing a team sport in high school, so I started playing volleyball when I was 15. My sister took up the sport shortly after I did.

Every older sister knows what it feels like to have their younger sister “copy” them. This was something I would complain about constantly. I was always annoyed at how everything I did, she did, or how everything I wore, she wore. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve learned to appreciate the things we have in common — even the fact that we look so alike. In fact, people often think we’re twins, although I’m three years older.

After a year of playing, we joined the same volleyball club in New York City and traveled to all the same tournaments. I watched every game of hers that I could. She got really good, really fast. Soon, she was able to play on my team, and we would practice together often. It was nice to have someone who I could always pass the ball with, even at home. Eventually, she became even better than me.

Any older sibling knows how hard that can be to admit. Younger me would have been embarrassed to confess that my little sister was better at anything than me, but it’s so special seeing your sibling surpass you at something. I know just how hard she’s worked to get to where she is because I had to work that hard too, and I am unbelievably proud of her for getting to where she is.

Some of my other teammates have had a similar experience. Second-year Natalie Dufour also has a younger sister who plays volleyball. “My sister Sophie is three years younger than me and has played volleyball since she was six,” Dufour said. “I was busy with ballet and basketball, and volleyball wasn’t my thing when I was younger. Freshman year of high school I started playing too, and my sister instantly became my coach and always told me everything I was doing wrong. It’s made me so much better.”

Dufour admits that her sister is better than her at the sport, and she loves being able to say that. She said that volleyball is Sophie’s life and that she’s never met someone so dedicated.

“I am incredibly proud of her commitment to volleyball,” Dufour said. “She’s put in more work than anyone else I know and keeps getting better every day. Her hard work is paying off — she’s probably going to play Division I. I love seeing her do so well and am so proud of her.”

Third-year setter Taylor Gwynne also has a younger sister who just started her first year at Kenyon College and is playing volleyball there.

“I think Becca’s always been better than me,” Gwynne said. “We play different positions on the court, but I can always count on the fact that she’ll outhustle me.”

Gwynne is unbelievably proud to be Becca’s older sister. She said that she can always count on her sister to push her further than she thinks she can go.

“I’m super proud of how positive and caring Becca is,” Gwynne said. “She always puts others before herself, and I learn from her every day how I can be kinder to my teammates and to myself.”

When I asked my sister to reflect on this weekend, it was heartwarming to be reminded that I introduced her to a sport that she loves so much.

“I really enjoyed being able to play against you during your senior season,” she said. “The whole reason I started playing volleyball is because of you. I remember watching you play as a kid and seeing the joy it brought to your life, and I wanted to be just like my big sister and follow in your footsteps. I’m so happy that we shared the love of the same sport. I really wish we could play each other again.”

Playing against my sister this weekend and getting to see her on the court sparked a new level of my pride in her. This was the first time I’ve seen her play in person in three years and the first opportunity I’ve had to watch her play collegiate volleyball. Especially now, as I wrap up my last collegiate season of volleyball knowing that November will probably be the last time I play the sport, it’s so exciting to think that I still have two more years to watch her compete, get better, and grow. I’m incredibly proud of her and the person she’s becoming.

Second-year Cami Sweet couldn’t believe the games’ statistics as Coaches Erica Rau and Katie Stansbury read them aloud to the team. According to the coaches, the Yeowomen have a solid chance of winning more than half their games this season — a first in program history. Sweet became the North Coast Atlantic Conference Player of the Week by scoring points for almost half the swings made over the net during the tournament. Additionally, she had a hitting percentage of 0.475 from 36 kills out of her 59 hits.

“We’re all so dedicated and we all want to win,” Sweet said.

The team’s early success can be partially attributed to Stansbury, known to the team as “Stanny,” a new assistant coach for the Yeowomen and former Division I volleyball player for Colgate University.

“[Coach Stansbury’s] enthusiasm and volleyball knowledge make her an amazing coach. … I think our passers are already better after working with her,” second-year Natalie Dufour said. “She also just brings a lot of energy to the court.”

In addition to Stansbury’s leadership skills, it doesn’t hurt that the majority of the team is made up of returning players who were part of a historic win against DePauw University and the first victory against Kenyon College in six years. This team almost went .500 last season, and though they weren’t able to achieve their goal, third-years Taylor Gwynne and Andréa Jones earned All- NCAC Honorable Mentions in the end.

“We have worked hard to have a great relationship with volleyball in general, as well as our chemistry on the court, and it’s showing,” Jones said.

The coaches show just as much excitement as their players this season.

“We are so excited about this group of young athletes!” Stansbury and Rau wrote in an email to the Review. “Everyone has a lot of experience, and we have strong senior leaders that are ready to move the program forward. This is the most talented team I have coached at Oberlin, and there are big things ahead for us this season.”

Since then, the team added another win to its streak at a home game on Wednesday night against Waynesburg University. The team will play Olivet College tonight in the NCAC Challenge.