Andover Central senior Olivia Lewis is embracing a new leadership role while helping the Jaguars chase a pair of championships and a trip to the state tournament.
Lewis was voted a team captain alongside Avery Unruh, a responsibility she is eager to take on as she enters her final high school season.
“I’m ready to embrace this role, and be there for my teammates however they need me,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the Jaguars’ chemistry and work ethic are among the biggest reasons she is excited for the season.
“I am the most excited to be with an amazing group of hardworking and dedicated girls,” Lewis said. “They truly are what makes school season so fun, and helps me show up every day.”
Lewis has spent much of the offseason preparing for her senior season. She has played volleyball since November, with breaks when her body needed them, while also putting an emphasis on weightlifting and her mental approach to the game.
“Weight lifting has played a huge role in my development as an athlete, and gives me confidence to play six rotations as an undersized player,” Lewis said.
Her mental game has also become an important part of her development. Lewis credited Ben Flowers with helping her improve in that area and said the work has allowed her to approach the game with more confidence and enjoyment.
“My mental game has been a huge part of my process, and has made the game much more relaxing and fun,” Lewis said. “Shoutout to Ben Flowers for helping me along the way.”
As a setter, Lewis has also focused on becoming more thoughtful in her decision-making. With more experience on the court, she has learned how to put her hitters in better positions while making it more difficult for opposing blockers to anticipate the offense.
“I’ve learned the best ways to keep my hitters successful while also keeping the opposing blockers on their feet,” Lewis said.
Lewis enters the season with several individual goals, including improving her consistency with location, defense and serve receive. While setter remains her primary position, she is also considering the possibility of playing defensive specialist at the college level.
“In the long run being a DS in college is a possibility, along with setting,” Lewis said.
She plans to continue getting as many touches as possible while being intentional with her work.
Lewis also has two major personal goals for her senior season: reaching 2,000 career assists and committing to a college volleyball program.
She already enters the season following a successful junior campaign. Lewis recorded 850 assists, surpassing the season total of a Division II commit, while earning ESPN Wichita Student-Athlete of the Week honors, AVCTL Division II first-team honors and Andover Central’s varsity program MVP award. The Jaguars also won the AVCTL Division II league championship.
Now, Lewis and her teammates have their sights set even higher.
“Our biggest goal is to put two numbers on our board,” Lewis said. “One for league championship and the second for a substate championship.”
The Jaguars have been working toward those goals since June, building toward what Lewis hopes will be a memorable final season.
“We have huge aspirations to make it to state, and have been putting in the work starting in June,” Lewis said.
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