Finder started playing volleyball competitively when she was 12. She started playing because a club coach needed players for her age group and has played ever since.

“I really didn’t play competitively till a club coach came up to me and asked if I would like to play,” she said. “I felt really confident coming into this year because I played with older girls in club last year. So filling the spot that Abbey and Natalie left was easier than I thought it would be”.

She played in the 18U club division when she was 17, so she felt comfortable running a 5-1 for high school

“Abby is growing into a great young setter. She progresses everyday with every touch and has done a great job being a vocal leader on the floor,” Coach Sue Tillery said, adding that she is a great setter who uses her head and quickness on the court.

Senior middle hitter Maddie Johnson also commented on how Finder has filled the leadership role.

“She has done a great job stepping in. She uses her head because she isn’t as tall as Abby and Natalie also she is quicker than both of them so she gets to more balls and puts up hittable balls from where ever she is on the court.” Johnson has a lot of confidence in her setter and she believes that Finder is doing a great job setting for the young Lafayette team.

Abby is averaging 9.15 assists a game with 421 total assists.

The Lady Lancers have three games coming up this week. Finder feels confident her team will do well this week in the three games. She has shown that she can handle the pressure of running a 5-1 on a competitive high school team, and it only gets better from here.

What many don’t know, however, is that Hennicke has another passion.

She loves baseball.

When asked who her favorite player is, Hennicke is always quick with her answer.

“Albert!,” she says.

Hennicke is one of Albert’s All-Stars, a team of players with Down’s Syndrome, who are coached by Albert Pujols himself.

“We’re good!,” Hennicke said, “and it’s great to be out there, especially with Albert, he’s such a great guy.”

Each year the All-Stars participate in a Home Run Derby and Albert’s All-Star Game against the Ellisville Bulldogs.

“I love to watch the game and be out there. It’s so fun,” Hennicke said.

This year the All-Stars will try to defend their title against the Bulldogs on June 17 at Miracle Field in Chesterfield Valley. The Derby is by invitation only, but spectators are encouraged to come to the All-Star Game at 6 p.m.

For junior Mitchell Porter, this is perfectly fine.

“I really like the sport because it’s a lot of pressure on yourself,” he said.

Porter is one of two golfers who qualified for State. To get there, he focused on his mental and short-game. 

“I was either going to be on the greens or right around them, so I knew had to chip and putt well,” he added.

No matter the skill, golfers had to face wet conditions this week after last week’s constant rain.

“I played well for the conditions and it was wettest I have ever played in,” he said.

Porter went on to shoot a 76 in the practice round, giving him confidence going forward.

If it comes down to the wire, Porter is no stranger to a clutch finish. During the regular season, the golf team had a one point victory against Kirkwood and a two point victory over Parkway South.

“I shot one stroke behind the top two players in state both matches, [which] takes a lot of strategy and practice,” he added.

“It felt pretty good. I’ve done it before, but this was for school and in front of more people. It gives me more confidence and makes you know that you can get timely hits for the team because you’ve done it before,” he said.

As a shortstop, James views himself as an infield captain and takes a team-first approach. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he focused on team’s recent turnaround rather than his own.

“We should be doing better. We lost some close [games], but we are starting to come together as a team,” he said.

However, it wasn’t until just before his freshman year that he could utilize this gift to his advantage.

“I played baseball until my 8th grade year and then I grew three and a half inches over the summer and said I need to play a different sport,” Kreienkamp said.

As a two-year varsity veteran of the Lancer volleyball squad, Kreienkamp has helped the team reach an 8-2 record. Along with junior Paul McGhee, he is also a team leader in kills, and is fifth in the Suburban West Conference in kill average.

The team is next scheduled to play on April 27 at Mehlville.

“My sister was playing soccer and I wanted to play so I begged my mom to play up a year,” Hibler said.

Field Hockey, however, had not become a factor until the 5th Grade, when former varsity head coach Kelly Yates invited her to play. Since then, Hibler has been part of the Gateway Field Hockey and JB Marine Soccer Clubs. She has learned to prefer these sports over many others because of their fast-pace and contact nature.

“They’re fast, they are pretty physical and there’s a lot of variety that goes on,” Hibler said.

As her final season as a member of the Lady Lancers soccer squad has gotten underway, Hibler is a team leader in points scored while they have gone 5-0 overall, remaining undefeated in league play.

“I have the easiest job on the team,” he said.

However, his job is critical while facing tough opposing servers. During a game, he spends most of the time returning, or digging, hard serves and spikes from opposing players.  

While entering high school, Kuanfung didn’t intend to play volleyball initially. His interest stemmed from gym class at Rockwood Valley, where he was constantly exposed to the sport.

He originally intended to join the track team, but decided against it and chose volleyball. There was also a familiarity with Lafayette volleyball, as junior varsity coach Sue Tillery teaches Physical Education at Rockwood Valley as well.

“We played all the time. I like how it’s really a team sport,” he said.

As far as the responsibility of his position, Kuanfung didn’t deny that the libero is a key part of the team.

“It all starts with a pass,” he said.

“Every off season I always look for something to improve on and when the start of the season comes along I want to showcase my ability and what I have improved on during the off season,” Ripp said.

In the opening game of the year against Rockwood Summit Falcons, Ripp got a key hit with the bases loaded that drove in two runs to extend Lafayette’s lead 3-0.

The lead would not last long and at the end of the game Lafayette was defeated by Rockwood Summit 6-5.

“Of course we would have loved to start the season off with a win, but in the first game everyone is getting back into form and I think we learned a lot,” Ripp said.

Ripp’s love of baseball has continued from his days in kindergarten to now, finishing off his senior season, he still enjoys the game.

“Each year something different is brought to the game that makes me appreciate it more and more and the drive to make my self a better player keeps me playing each day,” Ripp said.