Even with 20-2 start, Normal West volleyball still believes it’s still improving

NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Normal West volleyball players sing the school fight song after wins.

They’ve had plenty of practice singing it. The Wildcats are unbeaten in Big 12 Conference play and have won 20 of 22 matches overall despite being a relatively young team.

“We’ve come a really long way since the first couple weeks of practice and games,” said West head coach Kelsey Mueller. “They’re all still figuring out tendencies. I think a goal is to learn how to push everyone’s buttons to play their best.”

The Wildcats, who have just four seniors, opened the season with 17 straight wins, then lost twice on the same day in the Intercity Tournament. In hindsight, West thinks those losses to U-High and Normal Community might be a good thing in the long run.

“We refuse to let that change our goals,” Mueller said of those losses… “In order to beat the best in the whole state, you can’t take any moment off. We have a month left, at least until the postseason.”

The Wildcats may be leading the Big 12 but they feel like they are still improving. Even 22 matches into the season, Normal West feels like it still hasn’t played its best volleyball of the season.

“I think we’ve had good glimpses in games, but we’ve not played the best match of our life,” junior Avery Feltes said. “Good for us, it’s not postseason yet.”

West gets a chance to avenge one of those losses on Tuesday when it travels to rival Normal Community (18-6).

“We’ve been pushing good through our games but I think there’s a lot more (ahead) for this team,” said senior Ellie Rink. “If we keep working hard in practice, we can get better than we are now.”

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