On Saturday, September 3, senior Julia Townsend, reached a major milestone in her volleyball career. The Galena Pirate Volleyball Team traveled to Anamosa to compete in a seven-team tournament. Overall the team placed second. In their third tournament game, Townsend hit the 1000th assist of her high school volleyball career. After she made her 1000th assist, all of the parents and players cheered and held up signs to celebrate her accomplishment.
Townsend has been playing volleyball since she was in second grade when she played on the ARC team. Her volleyball career in high school has spotlighted her skills and talent. As a freshman, she played on the freshman and JV teams. Her sophomore season was the first time she had the opportunity to play as the setter for the varsity team. Though she wasn’t a starter quite yet, she gained the experience and confidence to become an even more successful athlete.
Townsend became the starting setter last year as a junior. “Last year becoming a main player on the court was definitely a big step up from my previous years,” said Townsend. “But I made sure to put in the work during the off-season so I could perform at my highest level.” Last year, Townsend helped lead the volleyball team all the way to the Sectional Championship game.
This year the team has high hopes of going farther in their postseason. “Julia is a great teammate because she understands anything you need,” said Taylor Hilby ‘23, “If you need to change a set she will do it right away for you and make sure you play the best you can.”
Townsend is also a co-captain of the team this year. She acts as a team leader on and off the court and encourages her teammates to be the best they can be.
“Julia is a big contributor for the team. If it wasn’t for her sets, we wouldn’t be able to get kills,” said Paeton Hyde ‘23, the other co-captain, “She runs the court and calls the plays which are important because we need sets to succeed. Her hard work benefits all of us.”
Townsend has high hopes as the season progresses, “I'm really excited for the season because we've been working extremely hard and have a lot of potential. Last year's loss gave us all the motivation to become the best players we can be.” she said.
The team has multiple big home games approaching this month. On September 22, the girls will play West Carroll, and on October 6, the team will face East Dubuque. The team encourages everyone to come to the games and cheer them on!