Familial bonds propelling Lady Eagles

The Willow Park Trinity Christian Lady Eagles volleyball team is in the process of creating a new regime of success under a strong culture behind return head coach Katherine Mullen and plenty of returning players. Amongst the familiar and new faces on the Lady Eagles volleyball squad are two sets of sisters – older sister Emily Ickert and younger sister Alex Ickert, along with twin sisters Kami and Paisley James.

In 2023, TCA finished with an overall record of 17-15 with a district record of 5-7 – both were improvements from the 2022 campaign. Currently, TCA is enjoying another successful season.

“I think one of the biggest keys is having a strong returning core of players from last year’s team,” Lady Eagles junior outside hitter Emily Ickert said. “This is also coach (Katherine) Mullin’s second year with us, so she was able to start the program off really strong, and we’ve been able to build on that this year. I think we’ve had a strong influence from this year’s freshmen class – they’ve come in doing their jobs and have really helped out the team. I think it’s evident that everyone on the team strives to win with a goal of making the playoffs.”

With things trending in a positive direction in terms of production, TCA is also solidifying their camaraderie with one another, which is especially fun for the sisters on the team.

“I think it’s really fun playing with my sister, Emily, because we’ve always been watching each other from the sidelines being two years apart, but now we get to play together,” TCA freshman setter Alex Ickert said. “Now, we get to play together, and our connection really helps us on the court. We always push each other to the best of our abilities because we are both so competitive.”

The competition is fierce between the James sisters as well and, along with that, keeping communication straightforward helps the girls sharpen one another effectively.

“Honesty has always been a big part of any sort of relationship of mine, especially with my sister and with Alex and Emily,” Lady Eagles freshman middle Kami James said. “The fact that we are able to be honest with each other and not sugarcoat anything allows us to know each other better without having pointless arguments.”

“Probably some cons are that we can definitely be critical of each other,” Alex said, with laughter.

The pair of sisters have been playing volleyball from a young age, and it’s both helped them strengthen their relationships with one another and bring the entire team closer together.

“My twin sister Kami and I have been playing volleyball since fourth grade,” freshman outside hitter Paisley James said. “What really made it interesting was the competitive aspect. We grew up playing sports since we were five years old, but getting to play volleyball together for the first time sparked the competitive connection for us to grow stronger together as athletes. We both have the passion to play for the win each time we are next to each other at the net.”

When dissecting the best ways to attack and defend against the opposition, the Ickert sisters have found their groove and strategize regularly during games and practices.

“I think it’s really helpful playing with my sister Alex because, number one, she’s the setter and I’m an outside hitter,” Alex Ickert said. “She will feed me balls to hit and I can tell her where I want the ball. It’s also good for us playing together because we push each other with our competitive spirits – we just want to pull the best from each other.”

Amidst their successful season, the Lady Eagles are setting lofty goals for themselves and are confident in their ability to achieve what they’ve set out to accomplish.

“Some goals we have this year as a volleyball team starts with making playoffs,” Alex Ickert said. “We also want to make it further in the state tournament. I feel confident that we can reach these goals because we have a good connection as a team and, with that connection, we can make it far together – I think we will go far this season.”