A few volleyball players prepared for the end of their college careers with the Humber Hawks on Tuesday while also practicing for their last three games.
Max Crowder, a fifth-year player, wants to show Humber and his potential future coaches what he brings to the court in his last few games.
“It’s a little sad, but it’s also a driving factor for me to play my best,” Crowder said. “Trying to give it all I got and show the guys what it takes and try to help lead this team to win.”
The Hawks have improved their record to 10-6 from a rocky 2-4 start.
For first-year Humber player Josh Nicholson, seeing teammates like Crowder graduate offers motivation to end the season well.
“They motivate me to get better because they know it’s their last year, their last opportunity to have a shot at Nationals and I just wanna contribute as much as I can,” Nicholson said.
This season hasn’t been easy for the team.
Nicholson said they have a lot of big personalities on the team, which sometimes clash.
“We’ve dealt with sort of a lot of egos on the court,” he said.
They also had many new additions this year, leading to a slow start to the season.
They also suffered numerous injuries this season, which affected their ability to gel as a team.
Head Coach Wayne Wilkins, who is in his 27th season of leading the team, said they had a period where they were learning how to integrate everyone.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but we had a lot of learning moments,” Wilkins said. “Our hope is that as we go into the playoffs we’ll be able to draw on some of that learning in order to help us do well.”
The Hawks are currently fifth in the west division, having played more games than all but one team.
Crowder said the team has turned their tough times into an advantage, using them as inspiration to learn and grow together.
“We realized what our mistakes have been and where we can improve,” Crowder said. “So we’ve definitely been working hard, to try to fix those things and reach our goals.”
Nicholson said they have a good chance to end the season on a strong note heading into the final stretch.
“We have three games, very winnable games, and I think we just need to build off those games to lead us into the playoffs,” Nicholson said.
Crowder said even though the team’s final standing isn’t decided, the Hawks are looking forward to the playoffs, and are ready to face any team they’re up against.
“We’re ready to take on whoever’s in our crossover match and playoffs,” Crowder said. “We’ll take anyone that stands in our way.”
As the regular season winds down and the playoffs are on the horizon, Wilkins urges students to support the team by showing up to the final games.
“Show some school spirit, come on out and cheer us on, on our run to the national championship,” he said.
Wilkins shared his gratitude to the fans and students who have supported the Hawks throughout the season.