As the fall sports season continues, Hickman’s girls’ volleyball team is in the early stages of its 2025 campaign. Coach Greg Gunn, Hickman Biology and Chemistry teacher and long-time coach of the Hickman volleyball team, has led Hickman teams to great seasons. One of the best came just two years ago, when the Kewpies finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 28-7-1. With dominant wins against Capital City and Hillcrest, the Kewpies are looking forward to a good year.

“I’m optimistic, hopefully optimistic, because we got a new group [of players]. We lost five seniors from last year, and we have four seniors on varsity this year. We have a good group of kids overall…and then we have another strong freshman group coming up. So I feel good about the season and the future.” Gunn said. 

During a long season, lots of things can happen to get a team off of its rhythm, and oftentimes, when a team falls off center, it can start to lose success. However, Gunn feels that if a team has experience, those losses can be limited.

“Experience adds stability to the group. The kids who have been through it before understand how things work in daily routines and practice, and that helps during [high] pressure situations. At the varsity level, the pace is faster, the teams are stronger, and the pressure is higher. Having that experience provides a foundation, and the kids who have come up from JV have worked really hard and I expect them to contribute immediately.” Gunn said.

Gunn also feels that a team having experience only amplifies the other great qualities of a team, and that confidence is a key characteristic of a great team, and one he hopes his team carries through the rest of the season.

“The foundation of performance really comes down to confidence. Experience strengthens that confidence, [that means the] confidence in your ability to perform, in your ability to accomplish your goals, and in your ability to handle tasks. When you have that confidence, everything else just sits on top of it. Without it, it’s harder to perform at your best.” Gunn said.