First Season Launch 🚀

Coach Hannah Erwin

12/9/2024

Our first girls volleyball season as a new coaching staff was one for the books.

I accepted the GW head volleyball coach position in April 2024 after a brief interviewing period with the athletics leadership team. The emphasis on community, building a legacy, and diversity and equity spoke to me as a candidate and it was clear that culture was the school leadership’s non-negotiable. I was excited to start building the vision for a program that would’ve motivated me as a young player when I was at the highs of my career in high school and college. With the support of exiting staff and current coaches (Angela Danley, Imani Fields, Kristina Arlt), I was able to learn more about the current identity and strengths of the program, without which we would have nothing to anchor onto.

I wanted this volleyball program to have ambitions for greatness, with our sights set on a playoff run in the near future. Wanting to be great isn’t just about our success as a volleyball program, but more importantly it’s what will bring our players success once they graduate and are tasked with building the life they dream of. I aspired for this program being led by leaders who leaned on each other and recognized each other’s strengths and humanity, and demonstrated to our athletes that we are stronger together than we are alone.

At the beginning of the season, I really only had two goals - survive the learning curve, and remember to pause and experience the great moments. Lucky for us, there was no lack of great moments. Here are some of MY highlights, demonstrating the hard work and culture we saw play out this Fall 2024.

  • Hosting a teams sleepover and keeping other important team bonding traditions at the request of our Seniors

  • Ending each week with Friday RnB yoga flows led by Coach Maty

  • Winning the Denver City League End-of-season Tournament (Silver division) - I couldn’t help but link the video of match point below for your viewing

  • Recognizing EIGHT Varsity athletes with District Honors

    • Alanna Joyce - 1st Team All-District

    • Addison Philabaum - 1st Team All-District

    • Hannah Kenda - 1st Team All-District

    • Itiah Gonzaléz - 2nd Team All-District

    • Kaleah Wallace - 2nd Team All-District

    • Meikala Bryant - District Honorable Mention

    • Myles Shaw - District Honorable Mention

    • Jayla Herrera - District Honorable Mention

  • Senior Setter and MVP Alanna Joyce being recognized at the state level and playing at the Colorado 4A All-Star Game

  • Having the first .500+ season GWVB has seen in years

  • Coach Zach absolutely killing the National Anthem on Senior Night

  • Having the support of our boys volleyball captains, Phillip Abad and Travis Nguyen, who were the most committed and passionate team managers I’ve ever seen

I found so much joy in supporting our players to grow and learn more about themselves. I am already ready for next season, and to keep building the identity of the GW volleyball program.