While most students were reclining in their couches and enjoying the long weekend, the Prolink Volleyball team was strapping on their sneakers. The team faced other groups in the state including A5, GA5, Sunami, and NAVC in a tournament that lasted from Saturday to Monday. The First Lady’s Challenge was hosted at the Georgia Convention Center which the girls worked hard to reach. They were able to demonstrate their hard work and practice from the year. They won the tournament which excited the team members and their fans at South.

Charlotte Bythewood, a junior on the team, was ecstatic about the win. “We creamed A5, a team that is supposed to be the best, but we showed them!”

When volleyball season ends at South, some of the players who wish to continue playing join Prolink Volleyball, which has a season that starts in the winter and lasts through the summer.

Sydney Forrest, a junior at South, participates in Prolink. She has been playing for Prolink for two years now. Sydney has played in the First Lady’s Challenge before.

On the first day of the tournament, the Prolink team won all three games. The second day was a different story, although the team realized that they benefited from tougher competition. “The second day we didn’t do so well, but we played upper level teams that were really good, but we were still on the Gold bracket,” said junior Sydney Forrester.

On the third day, the Prolink team won all of their games. They placed in the 17ths Gold bracket and won enough games to move forward to the Championship game. In return for winning the championship, everyone on the team received a sweatshirt.

For now, the team is taking a break from championships and is focusing on their practices. The team shows their dedication by practicing on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays every week. They work from 7:45 to 10:00 at night on weeknights, and from 3:00 to 5:00 on Sundays. Their next championship, which is three weeks away, will be in Orlando, Florida. The team has participated in this one before, so they have an idea as to how they will prepare for it.

“As a team, we can prepare for the Orlando tournament by working on our defense and serve receive to make sure that the setter can get the best pass to set to the hitters and middle players,” says Bythewood. “We need to be confident in ourselves since we won the National Championship last year, but not get cocky.”