GREENVILLE – Lady Wave senior Brooke Schmidt continues to add to her school record-setting career kills record, slamming her 1,000 Greenville kill in the team’s 3-0 sweep of the West Carrollton Lady Pirates, outscoring the visitors 75-30 in the three-set match.
“It has been a big day, a big win, lots to celebrate,” said Greenville volleyball coach Michelle Hardesty. “Brooke is a great player and has greatly impacted this program. We appreciate her hard work and determination to set and reach those goals, not just for herself but for our team.”
“All of us have faith in this team,” Schmidt stated. “We trust each other so well and the chemistry is a big thing, and having fun. The fun helps so much, the smiles, the giggles, the fun practices that lead on to the fun games.”
The Lady Wave volleyball program showed their appreciation for the officials before the start of the game.
“We celebrated the officials tonight,” said Coach Hardesty. “It’s Official Appreciation Week for the American Volleyball Association, so that was nice. Without officials, we wouldn’t be able to grow this sport the way we do.”
The Lady Wave grabbed an early first-set 18-8 double-digit lead and never looked back, taking advantage of Schmidt’s explosive kill shots at the net on its way to a 25-12 first-set win.
Greenville bolted out to a 9-1 second-set advantage and made it a 17-7 score on its way to a 25-10 second-set win to lead 2-0 in the conference match.
Schmidt recorded her 1,000th career kill midway through the third set, halting play and, allowing loyal Lady Wave fans, coaches, and team players to show their appreciation for her achievement.
“My teammates have all been so supportive of not just me but everybody else with Shyanne’s (Gibboney) records and Kindyl’s (Peltz) aces and one thousand assists; everybody on this team has had highlights whether it’s been recognized or not.”
With the milestone in hand, Schmidt’s night was done as the Lady Wave would go on to win the third and final set by a lopsided 25-8 score.
“We got to play a little more relaxed tonight,” said Coach Hardesty. “Everybody got in, we dressed an additional JV player tonight and got her some varsity experience so it was a lot of fun.”
Following the match, coaches Michelle and Jim Hardesty, along with Schmidt, took time to talk about Greenville volleyball, starting with Brooke’s appreciation for her coaches.
“Shellie and Jim have been there for me since day one,” Schmidt said. “I was having track practice in junior high and came to open gym. I had religion class, and I left 20 minutes early, and Jim stayed with me later. I remember being terrified of him, but he was so sweet, and he always made sure I was not in the net by standing in front of the net. They were coaching me after practice, showing me past players and all the form. They helped me through everything.”
“Brooke had a bad habit of jumping into the net when she was swinging so I stood in front of her,” said GHS assistant coach Jim Hardesty. “I figured if she could run me over then we were probably going to be in trouble but she learned to adjust to me standing in front of her and has done an excellent job and now is the all-time leading kill leader here at Greenville – the first one ever to get to one thousand kills.”
“Even your first kill on varsity is so amazing,” Schmidt noted. “All of us have so much fun and I love to see the smiles and the hype. Everybody pushes each other around and screams from my kill or a good ace or something is always so fun to be around.”
Brooke’s younger sister Lauren Schmidt, a seventh grader on the Lady Wave volleyball team, is not going unnoticed.
“Brooke is a big sister mentor to Lauren,” said Michelle Hardesty. “She is going to be chasing some records.”
“We always appreciate kind words from players,” Jim Hardesty stated. “Sometimes it seems like a helpless cause when you are coaching, but you always appreciate the fact when the athletes appreciate what you’ve done for them, and Tiffin University is going to get a good one.”
Schmidt will take her game to the next level, playing for the Tiffin University volleyball program.
