Four Lady Vikes pick up L&C Conference post-season honors

WAUSA — A memorable season for the Lady Vikings saw Alexa Cunningham and Hunter West both earn spots on the Lewis and Clark Conference First Team All-Conference team.

Honorable mention went to Abrielle Nelson and Sienna West.

“It’s always a great feeling when you get players selected to the All Conference teams in

Sienna West earned a spot on the All Confer the fact that the coaches in the conference think highly enough of your team to vote for your kids,” Wausa head coach Greg Conn said. “I always say that it’s an honor to have players from your team selected because it’s a direct reflection of your team in how they played and how they conducted themselves on the court throughout the season.”

Conn said the team as a whole did a tremendous job this season, adding that “in my mind, all of our kids are all conference players.”

Hunter West was a six-rotation player who led Wausa in kills and aces and was a solid back row presence and her showing may only be a preview of what more is to come for the sophomore. She ended the 2021 campaign with 283 kills and 46 ace serves.

“I think I had a pretty good season personally and I was excited I got All Conference because it showed how hard I worked and that it pays off,” Hunter West said. “I’ve worked on getting different shots to take and overall just improving my game and hustle to balls.”

Middle blocker Cunningham nce team this season. saw her numbers rise as the season progressed.

“Alexa did not play a lot in the back row but what most teams don’t know is that she is getting to be a pretty good back row player and certainly has that skill set in her arsenal,” Conn said.

Cunningham was a huge asset at the net this season, as she picked up a team-high 107 blocks. She also finished the season with the second-most kills on the team, with 172.

Conn cited Nelson as a player who could quietly get things rolling in Wausa’s favor as a “quiet assassin.”

She was the second-best server on the team, firing 42 aces over the net.

Sophomore Sienna West played a vital role at setter. Conn said she “got better every game out,” as the team made a run to the SubDistrict finals.

“She could take a bad pass and get it to a hitter basically from anywhere on the court,” Conn said. “The setter is comparably the quarter back on your team, running the offense and making decisions on the fly as to what the opponent’s defense was giving us and again as the season went along, I thought she made great decisions and moved the ball around because of the balance of hitters that we had which kept the defense guessing a lot of the time.”

Several girls from Randolph were also tabbed with accolades that highlight their strong showings this campaign.

Randolph juniors Bailey Beal and Erin Engel earned all-conference recognition for their play at middle and setter as the two, three-year starters promise bigger things for the future.

Beal, who made the first team for a second straight season, felt the team improved a lot from last year and the overall betterment bled over to her performance.

“Being definitely better with communication, I am way closer with my teammates and what we need to improve on,” Beal said. “We had really good attitudes and are much closer. After points we come back to the middle, pick each other up, say good things about each other and go back and play. That boosts everyone’s confidence on the court.

“If anyone gets a good point or play, you would think your teammates would also be very proud of you. If you have a good play and a teammates comes up to you and gives you a compliment personally, that boosts everything. I feel I can just keep going and keep doing it again.”

Randolph head coach Rob Engel said Beal’s great length and explosiveness has helped her evolve into being a regular weapon.