Megan Manderson: Sophomore Star

Megan Manderson is a sophomore who attends Central Bucks South High School. She is an all “A” student and carries a high GPA that never falls below 3.5.

Aside from managing schoolwork, Megan is an athlete as well. She plays for the South Girls Volleyball team as a varsity player. Since she is only in her first year of high school, her coaches and peers find it “impressive” that she plays at such a high level.

She said sometimes it is hard to be a student athlete because due dates for projects or tests might fall the day after a big game or long practice.

It is Megan’s second year playing for South’s volleyball team, and she plans to play her junior and senior year as a right side hitter/setter. She is coming back next year because she has “made many friends from the team, and it is fun to play.”

Megan first decided to play volleyball because her cousins enjoyed the game. This inspired Megan to pick up a volleyball and get in the game. Now she has a strong passion for the sport.

She said she enjoys the game because while she is playing she “feels stress free.” The co-captain of the JV team Caroline Choromanski agreed, “When I’m playing I forget all of the struggles of my life, and I just play for myself.”

Megan’s motivation to play the game is due to the surrounding players on her team. “The people around me motivate me to play,” she said.

She added, “I also play for the seniors because it’s their last year, and I want them to be happy with the season we have, since it is the last season they will play with our team.”

Megan inspires many of her peers. Sophomore Tara Korch, an outside hitter on junior varsity said, “Megan had the second highest score in tryouts and is the only sophomore with a permanent spot on varsity. She’s amazing at hitting and setting. She’s also always positive, no matter what situation she may be in on the court.”

“Megan is a really strong player, and she puts all the effort she has into each play. She’s really great to play with and overall a really fun, motivating person to be around,” added Caroline.

As a freshman, Jackie French was new to the volleyball team at the beginning of the season. She said, “My first impression of Megan was that she was such a sweet person, and she was always so supportive. She also inspired me to improve my playing a lot.” Many other freshmen felt the same way as Megan welcomed them to the team.

Isabel Miller, another freshman from the team, said, “Megan’s a really kind person, and she’s really encouraging.” Megan is known for her ability to put a smile on someone’s face, no matter how bad his or her day might be.

Through all of the ups and downs, Megan Manderson always has “a positive attitude and smile on her face,” Caroline said. With only two games left, Megan clarified what she thinks were the biggest accomplishment and disappointment of the team’s season.

“The biggest accomplishment we’ve had so far definitely was beating Lansdale Catholic. They’re such a good team, and it was a really intense game. But we managed to pull out a win,” Megan said with pride.

However, she said their biggest disappointment was “losing twice to Pennridge because it was Dig Pink, and it would have been awesome to beat them at least once.” Head Coach Ulana Keer agreed with both of Megan’s sentiments.

As the season comes to a close, players set their goals for what they may achieve during the offseason to improve for next year. Megan said that her goals for the team when she is a junior are “to be able to play some back row and have an undefeated season.”

She is looking forward to all of the potential challenges and rewards that are possible for next year’s CB South Girls Volleyball team.