If you’ve been to any girls’ volleyball games recently, you’ve definitely noticed the powerful spikes of junior Lida Van der Meer.  “If it was match point, Lida is someone I would feel really comfortable giving the ball to,” senior Maddie Huber said. “[Lida has become] one of our go-to hitters for when we need someone to put the ball away,” Huber said. Van der Meer has been a kill leader in almost every game, but she is not just a one-dimensional player. “She’s a threat in the front row and [the] back row,” Huber said, “She makes teams respect her.”

Van der Meer has vastly improved her game thanks to the hard work she put in during the offseason. Over the summer, Van der Meer played for her club team Vision 16 Gold along with several teammates, including seniors Huber, Morgan Dressel and Melissa Cairo as well as junior Elisa Merten. They played through July and then went on to Junior Olympics.

The fact that many of the Lady Knights played together this summer has helped build team chemistry early this year.  “[We are] really good friends on and off the court,” Van der Meer said.  With such a strong team bond, it makes the “team dynamic so much stronger because when we play together as a team, we can win a lot of games” Van der Meer said. The chemistry of this team has helped the knights navigate a tough pre-season schedule, including a loss to volleyball powerhouse Archbishop Mitty. This was a tough loss for the girls, especially because it was a hard-fought, four set match. Coming off this loss, Menlo is even more determined to play better and get revenge against Mitty in an upcoming tournament.

Moving forward, the girls will try to ride the momentum of a recent tournament win throughout the season.  Menlo won all six of their matches to win their own tournament, the Chris Chandler Invitational. This was a huge accomplishment, and the knights hope to keep their recent winning streak alive. Come out to the games to support both Van der Meer and the team as they try for a league championship.