Mary Contardi, a rising senior, is excited to take on her last season of volleyball. She has been playing volleyball on the team for the past 3 years. She was a member on the JV team her freshman and sophomore years, and last year she played on varsity.

Contardi is a crucial role to the team playing the middle hitter position. This position´s job is to block and hit the ball. The main job of the hitter is to score points for their team, while preventing their opponents from scoring.

Teammate Blake Hayden said, “Mary always does her job. She constantly pushes herself to be better and to score more points for the team.”

Along with being a critical athlete, Contardi also helps lead the team with her positive attitude.

Hayden said, “Mary is one of the most positive girls on her team. When she isn’t on the court she is constantly cheering for the team. She always wants what is best for us. She is the kind of teammate we all strive to be.”  

Contardi has also played for the Frederick Volleyball Club, also known as FVBC. She credits her success at Linganore to her skills learned at FVBC.

Contardi said, “Playing on FVBC has made me an all-around better player. Being on this team helped me feel confident going into my first season on Varsity. I was able to learn so much from the other players and their drive and positivity has inspired me to do better.”

This year, Contardi plans to make this season the best one yet. She does not plan to play volleyball oin college, so this will be her last time being on a team.

Contardi said, “Knowing that this season will be my last has pushed me to start conditioning to have the best last season possible.”

Contardi’s Coach Poff said, “Mary is one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met, which can be a problem on the volleyball court because she is not as aggressive as she should be, but she will fix that this year.”

Being a senior and a varsity veteran, Contardi also realizes that she is expected to be a leader for the new and younger members on the team. She plans to help the underclassmen by being a role model and spreading encouragement.

“Being new to varsity can be intimidating. You are expected to be just as good as the older teammates. I hope that I can help ease some of the younger girls’ stress and worries about being on the team. Being comfortable on the team can help you play your best.”

Along with her achievements in volleyball, Contardi also maintains honor roll and takes AP classes.

“Playing sports while taking challenging classes can be challenging, but it has taught me so many important skills, like time management, for college,” said Contardi.

Contardi embodies all of the character traits of a Lancer. Watch out for her next year during her last season of volleyball.