Rachel Kilkelly stepped onto the Shakopee volleyball court Monday morning with a little bounce in her step along with a smile on her face. The senior was sporting a black T-shirt with the words "Rise As One" in white lettering across the school's red Saber logo.
"It's nice to get back in the gym," said Kilkelly on the first day of fall practice for volleyball programs across the state. "This sets the tone for the entire season."
The captain was one of nearly 60 players participating in the initial day of tryouts. The Gopher recruit has been a mainstay in the Sabers starting lineup since eighth grade.
"It's exciting and sad at the same time being my last season," Kilkelly said. "It's going to be fun being a leader this year."
Her teammates were clad in four different colored T-shirtsthat identified their grade — black for seniors, red for juniors, white for sophomores and gray for eighth- and ninth graders.
"We have to stay focused on being a team, working together," Kilkelly said.
Sabers coach Matt Busch got practice underway with a 6-on-6 progression drill spread across three courts. There was a mixture of the colored T-shirts on each of them.
It only took a minute before Busch was blowing his whistle to get everybody's attention.
