PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For the second week in a row, the KOIN 6 Athlete of the Week is a team that’s getting national attention. The Jesuit volleyball team is ranked 25th in the country.
“I think this is the closest team I’ve ever been on in all my years of playing,” Erin Foley said.
Head coach Teresa Zimmberlee has coached at Jesuit for more than 25 years and says this year’s squad is in the top three or four she’s ever coached.
Two seniors attribute that to the girls being a team long before they put on the Crusaders uniform.
“Back to like CYL we would play each other for our elementary schools, so the chemistry is very much present this season,” Foley said.
“I love playing with my teammates,” Rose Booth said. “There’s nothing like getting fired up in front of a big crowd and just that energy that playing with your best friends and getting excited brings.”
With a perfect conference board, the Crusaders have dominated in Oregon, their only losses coming from the Nike Tournament of Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, for the best high school teams in the country.
The Crusaders have been state champions 5 times. The last win was in 2015, when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
“Getting to where we are now, it’s kind of like a sense of accomplishment and kind of a full circle feeling,” Booth said.