Rend Lake College’s Abby Wesselmann is soaking up her sophomore year.
As the team’s libero, she is the backbone of the Warrior defense, and her team has been battling all season to show what they could do with a full schedule.
“Every play, every point, every game… we all give it 100%,” said Wesselmann, who graduated from Nashville Community High School in 2020. “And there is nothing more you could ask for than a team that gives it their all.”
The Warriors (17-7) went from being a .500 team last season to a conference contender. Heading into the last few weeks of the season, RLC has won 8 of the last 10 games and is making a hopeful run for the NJCAA playoffs. This is no small feat considering the depth of a tough and competitive Great Rivers Athletic Conference, where teams have swapped the top of the conference all season long.
Much of the success has been attributed to the Warrior’s ability to cohesively fun the floor and maintain the momentum.
“Our team just has great chemistry,” Wesselman said. “The sophomores are basically getting a second year to play with each other. The freshmen are following the outline and framework us sophomores have set. Everybody is starting to trust each other to do their specific job on the court.”
This season, Wesselmann has racked up 528 total digs, averaging 6 per set. Warrior Head Coach Reggie Bateman said the team has really come together to play this season.
“Abby sets the defense tone in the back row,” Bates said.
Wesselmann said she has had a lot of favorite memories playing for Rend Lake, but the
One example of that was a recent game against conference rival John A. Logan College, where the Warriors grabbed the 3-2 road victory. Wesselmann had a game-high 36 digs that evening.
“We all felt unstoppable that game,” she said. “The atmosphere in the gym was just insane. The best memories we have as a team are our long drives to games. We drive a 15-person van to the away game so we are packed pretty tight with our 11 people. We do some crazy stuff while Reggie is driving. I honestly don’t know how he puts up with us singing or playing games the whole way there and all the way back.”
Wesselmann said she has enjoyed getting the opportunity to play the sport she loves at a higher level of competition, and she hopes to continue her volleyball career at the university level
“Volleyball has been in my life since the third grade and I honestly hope it is with me forever,” she said. “I want to thank my family for coming to all my games and for cheering me on. I also want to thank the Nashville Hornettes head coach Josh Konkel and his wife Autumn. Thank you both for always pushing me to become the player I am today. Go Warriors!”
Note: Editor Leah Williams also works as the Public Information Specialist for Rend Lake College. Some of fthe information from this story was published earlier at rendlakewarriors.com
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