The girls varsity volleyball team has been a powerhouse in recent years winning the IMAC conference the last three years. This year, however, the team is without Blythe Rients who led the team in kills for the last three years and committed to the University of Iowa. Without Rients, the team began searching for a new identity which was a slow process, with the team losing their first four games of the season. However, they have recovered since then winning their next four games to return to .500 on the season. Part of their new identity came through their playlist which features primarily rap music.

“This season we like to play a lot of rap music to pump us up,” said senior Arie Walker. Walker was tasked with creating the playlist for the team. “We have a sixteen-minute warmup that I created an ordered playlist set for.” 

As for how the playlist is assembled, Walker said, “We put all of our favorite songs at the very start and end of the warmup […] As for my favorite song, I would say that it is ‘No hands’ because everyone on the team knows it really well.”

With the team on a hot streak, they now turn their attention to a weekend tournament at Henry Sibley High School. The teams in the tournament include Blake, White Bear Lake, Harding, Fridley, St. Cloud Tech, St. Agnes, and Henry Sibley.

Walker said, “We have won two years in a row, so we are really hoping to come out on top again on Saturday.”

A full version of the playlist is available to stream on Spotify.