Three Tyrone freshmen volleyball players and their club team, the Horseshoe Welty, have qualified to play in a tournament in Orlando, Florida on June 17th-20th. 

Freshman Mattie Cherry, Makenna Bauer, and Courtney Williams all play for the Horseshoe Club team, which practices at the Tyrone Armory.  The team took second place at the Grand Prix tournament in Lancaster, qualifying them for a bid to the national tournament. 

“You never know when an opportunity like this will come along again,” said Cherry.

Bauer plays as an outside hitter and a right side hitter on occasion. Cherry is a setter, so she plays just about every second ball. Both girls began volleyball in 5th grade, and have been playing ever since.

Williams got a later start to the game in her 8th-grade year but has quickly developed into a solid player. She now excels as a middle.

All three girls agree that it took a lot of teamwork and practicing to get to the place they are today and are excited to compete at a national level.

“I credit our success to wanting it bad enough to push through practice after practice,” said Bauer.

Tyrone head coach Mike Kraft doesn’t coach this club team but coaches Cherry, Bauer, and Williams during the regular school season.

“These girls practice three times per week during the off-season, November through May, plus additional skills clinics, group, private lessons and various camps and clinics throughout the year.  In addition to this, several of our players train two to three times per week with a sport-specific trainer to improve strength and conditioning. High school season is added to this which is three months of volleyball basically five days per week from mid-August to early to mid-November,“ said Kraft.

Tyrone assistant coach Bob Oberheim also serves as an assistant coach to Welty Team.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for these young ladies to not only better their volleyball skills but also experience a trip of a lifetime with their teammates,“ said Oberheim.

While the girls continue to practice for their upcoming tournament, the players have their eyes on the prize.

“I’m really excited to show [everyone] how we can get that dub!” said Williams.