Featured Athlete: Brigitte Acquah

The QSI Girls Volleyball team had a winning season led by one of the star players, junior Brigitte Acquah. Acquah had the highest statistics for both aces and kills, with 44 and 36, respectively. First time coach, Eleni Stellatos, described Acquah as determined with leadership potential and a player that tried to include everyone. Stellatos wouldn’t be surprised if she one day played professionally, if that’s what she wanted to do. 

Q: When did you start playing volleyball?

A: Well, I tried out in 6th grade, but I didn’t make the team, so I started playing around 6th grade.

Q: How did you get in shape for tryouts?

A: There was a thing during the summer, but I’m definitely not in the best shape on this team.

Q: What was it like to come back after not playing since before the pandemic?

A: It felt really good because I really like volleyball, it gets you really active, and it was sad not having it.

Q: Describe how you feel before a game, what are you thinking?

A: I hadn’t played volleyball in a while, so before we started playing our games I would get anxious because I thought we were gonna do really bad. But now I’m not nervous, I like to just play and not really think about losing or winning, but if we lose the first set then maybe I get nervous.

Q: How do you balance sports and academics?

A: I guess you just gotta see how it fits into your schedule and all that. I try not to always think about volleyball because it’s not even that much. It’s better to [think] about school first, if you have a test and all that, and try not to skip classes because of volleyball.

Q: What are your future plans for volleyball?

A: Well, it would be nice if I played next year and in college but I’m not sure if volleyball is the main focus because I know a lot of people get scholarships for it, and that would be nice.

Q: What is some advice you would give to other people that are interested in volleyball?

A: Volleyball is a lot of work, even I’m not the best. I still mess up every day. So, it’s okay to make mistakes, just keep doing that and you’ll get better

Q: How would you feel about a boys’ volleyball team?

A: I think I would like that because we never had a boys’ volleyball team and I would come to all their games because I know a lot of the boys that play volleyball are really good. I play with them sometimes and I know that they would go far if there was a team for them.