*Hallie has played imperative roles for both Unioto’s conference champion volleyball and basketball teams this year. On the volleyball court, she logged a team-high 432 digs, ranking second in the SVC. These are her thoughts on how her junior year has gone so far and what she expects the rest of the way:
So far, my junior year has been very successful in the sports world.
We started out 2018 with a league title in volleyball, where I earned my 1,000th dig in September. We ended our season as the district runner-ups.
We had a different team this year due to the loss of a key setter and two hitters. A few of my teammates had to step up and fill missing roles, and did a great job of that. We had some ups and downs this season, but we eventually got through it, which brought us closer together.
Next year, we are going to have to rely on some younger girls to come up and fill the spots of Jocie [Fisher] and Amanda [McGlone]. We are losing size once again and have high expectations for the upcoming sophomores and juniors. We are coming back with six returning seniors, which is my class, and we have set goals for ourselves and are looking to get the job done in 2019.
This winter, we won the sixth gold ball in Unioto girls basketball history, which means a lot to us. We’ve only had two losses this season, coming to Vinton County and Washington Court House. We have a pretty deep bench this year, which is definitely an advantage we have over most teams. With [coach] Jeff’s [Miller] confidence in all 13 players, anyone could go in at any time and get the job done. Our team has a strong bond, which helps us play together on the court. This is the first time we have been to a district semifinal in a long time and we’re hoping to make a long run.
Softball should be successful. We start practices in a few days and our goal this year is to make it past the sectional tournament since we haven’t done that in a long time. We have most of our returning starters back this year. I’m looking forward to what the future holds and can’t wait for the season to start.
Hallie Pinkerton, Unioto junior