Girls' Varsity Volleyball Kicks off Season

By Samantha Silverbrand, staff reporter

Photo by Emma Nemes

The girls varsity volleyball team set off the season with a spectacular win against Bethany Christian Academy last Saturday and another against Sturgis West on Monday. Sadly their winning streak has been cut short this Wednesday with a loss against rivals Pope John Paul II.

Starting off the season with a boom, captains Shannon Slater and Makaila Lyons made some astounding plays on the floor, Makaila scoring first point against Bethany with a resounding spike over the net. Winning the first set, Sturgis carried on with confidence. Throughout the second set there were some amazing plays made by some of the newer players this year, freshmen Deja Andrews and

Lauren Smith. Throughout the set Bethany

Photo by Emma Nemes

made some surprising plays, giving Sturgis East a tough time trying to win against them in the second set and  Bethany ended up winning 25-22. After losing the second set, the Sturgis varsity girls gained the determination to do better in the next set. Upping their game to their best playing, they ended up winning the third set 25-14 with their willpower and concentration on the game. Entering the fourth set, the Sturgis East girls went in with their hearts set on the win. Grayce Rogers made some fantastic digs, passing the ball for the winning point in the fourth set, final score being 25-22, giving Sturgis East their first win of the season.

Monday brought the anticipated game against Sturgis West. Already feeling the heat of East, Sturgis West brought their A-game, making some good volleys, but not quite good enough. Sturgis East dominated the court making volley after volley, some terminal hits being made by junior Hannah Taylor and sophomore Emma Nemes. The Sturgis East volleyball team had come to win, winning the first three sets within a time period of only 45 minutes to complete the game. All and all it was a good day for Sturgis volleyball on both sides of the net. Sturgis West showed great competitive spirit and sportsmanship, and their games will always be anticipated in the future.
Finally on Wednesday was the game against PJPII. It was a hard fight for the win in the first set, but Sturgis finally won 26-24 with a well deserved win for the first set. After the first set things seemed to change, and Sturgis was a little too off their game, letting Pope John Paul take the initiative to win the next three sets. Even though Sturgis lost the game, the first set was the best of the season.  
The Sturgis East varsity volleyball team will continue the season with their next game on Saturday in Hanover against South Shore Regional Technical School. They hope to keep a positive attitude for the outlook of the season and to come out as a better team this year by  improving their skills and working as a team.

Wellness: More Class Time, Less Stress

by Sara Prygocki, staff reporter

This year was the beginning of a new class at Sturgis known as Wellness, which students go to once every seven day rotation.

Taught by Mrs. Hernandez, it is a mainly yoga class with some meditation and breathing exercises thrown in there for good measure.

During class, there will be soothing music playing, occasionally a poem, or anything other activity that would kids remain healthy.

“In college I studied Arabic, and was heading down a very stressful road. Luckily, I found yoga,” Mrs. Hernandez says of her yoga background. “I like working here, and kids are a lot more fun to teach than adults. The kids here are very nice, and it’s not like a public school at all. Honestly, if there was something like this in my public school, it would have been nuts but Sturgis is perfect for this sort of thing.” Mrs. Hernandez added that even if yoga isn’t your thing, it is still beneficial because it takes time away from the stress of class and gives students a place to relax.

Boys' Soccer Improves to 5-1

by Kevin Agostinelli, staff reporter

The Sturgis Boys soccer team suffered their first loss of the season to Nantucket on Wednesday, September 19, but they bounced back with a 5-0 triumph against Southbridge on Saturday, September 22.  

The Storm were riding high after four consecutive victories to start the season, but their humbling defeat at Nantucket reminded them that winning the Cape & Islands Division Championship will not be an easy task. The first half was dominated by Nantucket, who scored two goals in the first ten minutes and incessantly found holes in the Storm’s backline. With midfielder Dylan Steven out with a concussion, Sturgis’s attack struggled to create chances, but forward Chris Dedecko nearly got on the end of several breakaways. Despite a much-improved offense in the second half, Sturgis still gave up two goals to lose 4-0.

The Storm’s Saturday morning match against Southbridge was virtually the opposite of Wednesday’s game as the midfield owned possession and goalkeeper Kyle Garvey earned his second shutout of the year. Even with the absences of starters Dylan Steven, junior Greg Watts, and senior Chris Dennison, the new-look starting lineup performed admirably. In the first 38 seconds of the game, senior forward Aidan Fitzsimons stole the ball from a Southbridge defender and coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Just a few minutes later, senior goalkeeper Kyle Garvey scored his first Sturgis career goal off a penalty kick. Juniors Jonny Gomes and Alex Smith followed with their second and first goals of the season, respectively, and defensive general Ben Duncan made up for a missed penalty kick earlier in the game by scoring from the spot in the second half.

The boys look forward to their rivalry game against Sturgis West on Monday as they are now 3 games away from clinching a spot in the state tournament with a 5-1 record.