Wolfpack Volleyball Is Building Toward Local Dynasty

New England Patriots. 1990’s Nebraska Cornhuskers. Alabama Crimson Tide.

Those are just a few examples that come to mind quickly of a dynasty. If you look more locally, you could probably add St. Mary’s volleyball, Crofton girls athletics and Norfolk Catholic football. If things keep going the way they are, you can probably soon add Elgin Public/Pope John volleyball to that list.

A dynasty is typically a team that is the cream of the crop, year in and year out. They are always in contention for championships at the varying levels and almost always enter games as the favorite. Opponents often circle that game on the calendar. It often draws the biggest crowd and rarely ends with the opponent heading home happy.

That has been the case for the Wolfpack the past four years. Coach Tina Thiele-Blecher has created an atmosphere of winning in the locker room and the girls expect to win.

Last year, that amounted to the first state championship berth in Wolfpack history after narrowly missing out on a shot for three years in a row. They did that on the strength of a strong senior class, so it was understandable to expect a step back this year. However, that has been far from the case.

The team just keeps winning. The underclassmen have seamlessly stepped into lead rolls and they are rolling to an 8-1 start. They know how to get the kill at the net, with Paige Meis, Grace Henn and Lydia Behnk all over 40 kills so far this season. They get plenty of defense to go with it, too.

​If the Wolfpack keep winning, they’ll be long remembered for their incredible run.