Senior defensive specialist, Lainne Wilkins, is playing in her fourth and final year with the Rocky Mountain College Women’s Volleyball team. Wilkins is originally from Vancouver, WA, where she started playing club volleyball in fourth grade. She fell in love with the sport and, in sixth grade, started playing competitively. After visiting Rocky, Wilkins decided she was ready to move away from home for a new experience and team. At Rocky, Wilkins is double majoring in English with a focus in Creative Writing and Communications, alongside playing varsity volleyball. She is a successful writer and has had four pieces published in the school’s journal, The Rocky Mountain Review.
The women’s volleyball team at Rocky, Wilkins says, molds well on the court, which makes them such a competitive team. The team made it to the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Tournament last year, beating Bushnell University 3-0 in the first round before falling to both Indiana Wesleyan University and Midland University. Wilkins says their goal is to make it back to Nationals this year. To do that, they are working hard to either win the conference or be nationally ranked in order to get a spot in the opening round. If they achieve this goal, they will be able to compete in the National Tournament. Wilkins believes that with the team’s chemistry, they might be able to make it.
On Friday, Sept. 30, the Battlin’ Bears were able to sweep Carroll College in Helena, winning the match 3-0, but fell to Montana Tech 0-3 on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Bears will take on Montana Western Friday, Oct. 7, and Providence Saturday, Oct. 8, at home so make sure to go and support your Bears this weekend!
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