As Women’s History Month comes to an end, the celebration of women’s achievements continues, especially in the world of sports.

This past year, BGSU volleyball had a successful season, winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season title and reaching the NIVC Championship final.

To continue the celebration of Women’s History Month and women in sports, Falcon Media Sports Network sat down with a few of the program’s very own on how they feel about women in sports, this past season and moving forward.

Q: Do you think the program has grown with the recent spotlight on women’s sports? How would you measure this growth?

Avery Anders: “I think that this program has grown. We have an excellent community and a lot of people who support us… I think that a lot of schools don’t have that type of sport, especially in volleyball, and I know that in the MAC we have one of the biggest attendance records for volleyball, and that really shows the support we have here at BGSU for women’s sports.” 

Sydnie Hernandez: “Our volleyball program is always growing, but the people in this group, this specific group, are great women as far as women go, so I just love getting to be around them. We’re always doing everything for each other because it is a team sport. So it is kind of empowering to see all of us coming together all of the time. It is growing always and continuously.”

Isabelle Laube: “I think the program changed a lot each year; new girls come to the team and bring fresh perspectives, so it changes every single year.” 

Q: Did you face adversity while participating in sports growing up? What advice do you have for girls currently playing?

Avery Anders: “I think that women in sports, the spotlight isn’t always on us. I feel like basketball, football, and men’s sports have a little more support than we do. It’s just important to remember you’re just as important and your goals and your achievements and successes are just as important as men’s and not let that affect how you view your accomplishments.”

Sydnie Hernandez: “In a sport like volleyball, there’s always battling for playing time, and growing up in club volleyball, you’re always trying to make the highest team and be with your friends or make the team your goal is to make. So throughout the club, I would say getting through that is kind of internal. It’s all internal in the way you have to think about yourself and know you’re confident in your abilities, kind of, I’d say just knowing yourself to get through it.” 

Isabelle Laube: “For advice, I would say to try everything because you never know what you’re going to love. Play as many sports as you can because it helps you grow as a person and player. The skills you build from that are extremely important in life and will help you grow later.” 

Q: How do you feel about the growth of the game in popularity, especially coming off the inaugural season for the Professional Volleyball Federation?

Avery Anders: “It’s going to inspire a lot more girls to try and reach for their goals and can help them achieve their goals more. I think that bringing pro to the US is awesome. It’s going to improve the game and spring a spotlight on women’s sports in general, and it’s gonna impact a lot of things for women in sports.”

Sydnie Hernandez: “It’s already helping grow the game. Volleyball has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the past couple of years. It’s awesome to get to see people playing after college, when growing up I thought college volleyball was like the limit. So it’s awesome to see some of the best players I watched on TV growing up and continuing their careers. It’s kind of unfair when you think about how basketball players have the WNBA and other sports have other opportunities. But it is fun to see that volleyball is growing.”

Isabelle Laube: “Women’s sports in general as a whole are getting more popular and becoming bigger in the US. It’s awesome to see that viewership numbers and things like that are increasing every year; NIL opportunities are also going to become a bigger thing.” 

Q: How does it feel to be a role model for younger girls playing now?

Avery Anders: It’s awesome, It’s a great feeling. We talk a lot about how we want to represent our program in a positive way, and we know that people are watching us. We know that the spotlight is on us a lot, so we need to make sure that we’re doing our jobs and being kind, and I think that a lot of little girls do look up to us and want to be us when they’re older, and it’s awesome; it’s a good feeling. It gives some like a sense of pride and excitement that people love us and like want to watch us and are excited for us.”

Q: How will your mentality change after such a successful season? Will it change?

Sydnie Hernandez: “Honestly, I think it will be the same. We have our standards and values, and we’re honestly just trying to live up to them every day, we want to win and hope that our competitiveness will take us there, but I don’t think we have to do anything different; we just have to do BG volleyball.”

Q: Have you noticed any shifts in how female athletes are perceived compared to male athletes, and what still needs to change?

Isabelle Laube: “In recent years, women have been getting a lot more credibility for the work and the effort they put into their sports. I do think that there’s still a way to go, but we’re definitely on the right track.”

Q: How can we help uplift women and girls in sports?

Avery Anders: “Just representing your program in volleyball and in general in a good light and making sure that younger girls know that they can be successful and therefore be empowered. They can reach their goals and achievements; I think that’s super important.”

Sydnie Hernandez: “As far as BG goes, the community is great. They’re always showing up to games, and we get to connect with the fans after every game. It’s awesome to talk to all of our fans, but especially the younger girls. They’ll always come up to us after and laugh about their season and how they’re doing in high school volleyball or even in junior high or even younger than that. I mean, they’ll come up to us just to talk, and it’s so cool to reach them, as well as people our age. So, I’d just say reaching out to the younger girls that hopefully want to keep pursuing volleyball and letting them know how it is and how they’re doing and all that.” 

Isabelle Laube: “I think just showing up to the games. No matter what sport it is, showing up and showing that people are interested in watching is really important.”