BIG RAPIDS — Christy Warzynski is one of those volleyball players who can’t give up, including during the offseason.
Warczinsky is coming off a strong junior volleyball season as an outside hitter, when her team won the district title. She now invests her time in club volleyball with the Inside Out team.
Over the summer, with the arrival of new coach, Jim Nostrant, Warczinsky was confident the Cougars were headed in the right direction.
As it turned out, she was right when the team upset Pentwater in the district title game.
“Soon after that, our practices got a little more intense and our games got a little more intense,” recalls Warzynski, a redshirt junior. “The teams we played couldn’t keep up. Then we hit a straight line.”
In the title match, “the key was communication and staying strong,” Warczynski said.
This was Warczinsky’s first season playing at outside hitter.
“I have more space to work with on the court, and there is a lot of potential,” she said. “The key is to stay aggressive.”
The two district games before the title game were also highlights, Warczinsky recalls. She said the Cougars have a lot of confidence going into the title game.
Warczinsky also served and played in the back row.
“The key with serving is keeping your hands straight,” she said, adding that the key to being effective in the back row “is having a good platform.”
Warczinsky served at 84.3 percent and hit .074 for the Knicks with 112 kills and 97 digs while earning all-conference honors in the West Michigan D League.
“She started the season strong, had an injury midway through it, but finished the season strong,” CCA coach James Nostrant said. “There’s a lot to be expected as long as it continues to grow. I figured out how to put the ball away at the end of the season.
Volleyball is Warczinsky’s only varsity sport.
“I just love the dynamics of it,” she said. “I started liking it in sixth grade and have loved it ever since. I loved watching it more than any other sport.”
Warczinsky is now focusing on club volleyball with the Inside Out group.