Volleyball Holds Senior Night
(Images by Tracy Durish) Above: 2021 Clarion Area Volleyball senior players and their parents (L-R) Payton Simko with parents Eric and November Simko, Paola Lopez with mother Maria Lopez, Korrin Burns with parents Joe and Jodi Burns, Jordan Best with parents Matt and Melanie Best, Noel Anthony, parents Bonnie and Rob Anthony.
The Clarion Area Volleyball Team, Boosters and fans recognized their five senior players and their parents with Senior Night festivities, on Wednesday, October 13th. This Senior Night was a bit different, as the Bobcats scheduled opponent, Forest Area had to cancel earlier that day (the match was eventually played at a later date).
Coach Shari Campbell shares about the event as well as comments about her five seniors (whose bios are at the bottom of the article).
It is always great to get a chance to recognize our seniors. Our 2021 senior night was unique in that we didn’t have an opponent, so we designed the night to celebrate them and the program. We started with an underclassmen spirit scrimmage. Our seniors were the referees, coaches and announcer for this fun scrimmage. We recognized our five seniors after the inter-squad scrimmage.
Noel Anthony: Noel is such a hard working athlete. I have enjoyed watching her develop over the years in the program and am very proud of her positive leadership style.
Jordan Best: Jordan is an example of great hustle to all her teammates. She’s such a coachable player and it’s been fun to see her be successful.
Korrin Burns: Korrin has contributed so much as a starter for 4 seasons. She is always looking for ways to improve. It’s an honor to take time to celebrate her.
Paoloa Lopez: Paola has a great attitude and always works hard. She’s become a big presence at the net.
Payton Simko: Payton brings a lot of energy to the court through the way she plays. She is very versatile and willing to play wherever the team needs her.
All of these seniors are great student-athletes. I am excited to see them lead this team into the play-offs as they focus on the goals they have set. They are ready to take that on as well as any goals they set for themselves in the future.
We concluded senior night with a Senior (plus a few supporting underclassmen) vs an underclassmen team scrimmage. All our parents and fans got to see such great play from our entire team. As a coach I see that everyday in practice, so it was nice for everyone else to also.
After all the fun in the gym, we celebrated our seniors with some pizza and cupcakes with family and fans.
Senior Night Bios 2021
Noel Anthony: Noel is the daughter of Robert and Bonnie Anthony. She is the current President of National Honor Society and is a member of Student Council. Noel also participates in several varsity sports, such as volleyball, softball, and basketball. Additionally, she is a member of the Clarion Singers. Noel plans to attend college majoring in Biology pre-med while also playing softball. She enjoys working with children and helping people, which has led her to pursue a career as a pediatrician. She hopes to one day have a family with lots of kids, a dog, a chinchilla, and a big house with a pool!
Her favorite volleyball memory is, When she tried to serve a ball and it accidentally hit Coach Campbell who was standing out of bounds….by a lot!
Jordan Best: Jordan is the daughter of Matthew and Melanie Best. She is a member of the Clarion Varsity volleyball, basketball, and softball teams. She holds an office in several school organizations, including vice president of student council, secretary of National Honor Society, and vice president of the senior class. In addition, she is a member of the Stand Together Program and is the head editor for the yearbook staff. Jordan is committed to play softball at Gannon University and she plans on majoring in applied exercise science to become a physical therapist.
Her favorite volleyball memory is, When Coach Durish was making the JV team run sprints and yelled “Excuses are for losers!!” She will forever be using that quote.
Korrin Burns: Korrin is the daughter of Joe and Jodi Burns. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, and Art History Club. Korrin is also a captain of the Clarion Volleyball team. She also plays for Revolution Volleyball Club, and is verbally committed to Saint Francis Volleyball. Korrin plans to attend Saint Francis University and major in occupational or physical therapy while playing volleyball. She hopes to one day have a big family with many dogs.
Her favorite volleyball memory is, Winning a State Championship and On Sep 29, 2021 at 5:33 PM Coach Campbell told her she did a good job!
Paola Lopez: Paola is the daughter of Maria Lopez. She is a member of the National Honors Society and Art History Club. She participates in Varsity Volleyball, Basketball, and Track & Field. Paola’s future plans are to attend college, possibly majoring in Speech Pathology, and one day to have a large family with two cats.
Her favorite volleyball memory is, during a junior high volleyball tournament, while waiting to play, the team played a game. They spun a bottle & whomever it landed on received a slap on the arm from the person to their right. Jordan slapped Maddie Kerr so hard she started bleeding….they also won the tournament!
Payton Simko: Payton is the daughter of Eric and November Simko. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is a captain of the Clarion Volleyball team. She is a member of the Clarion Varsity volleyball, basketball and softball teams. Her future plans include attending a four year college for nursing or occupational therapy and living with 3 cats!
Her favorite volleyball memory is, during her junior year when Jordan tried her jump serve in a game and it hit her straight in the back of the head.
(Congratulations Noel, Jordan, Korrin, Paola and Payton!!!!)
