As they stand together in their backyard, the two sisters, Courtney and Brianna Wortman, bump the volleyball back and forth, sharing smiles and laughs together. The Wortman sisters have played volleyball their whole lives, growing up with a father who has a great impact and influence on them. Senior Courtney Wortman, has been playing volleyball for seven years and Freshman Brianna Wortman has been playing for five.

“My father inspired me to play volleyball,” Courtney said. “We used to pass the ball back and forth all the time.”

Courtney has played on numerous teams before joining the FHN volleyball team including HP, PAO, Elites and CYC for Saint Elizabeth. Joining her freshman year, she made the JV team, and when trying out sophomore year, she made varsity, holding her spot since.

“My freshman year was great,” Courtney said. “It was one of my favorite teams, the people I played with were great and my coach was awesome. She helped me grow a lot as a player.”

After loving the team so much, Courtney began to convince Brianna to join the team her freshman year. Not knowing what team Brianna would make, since volleyball was such a large part of her life, she decided to try out anyway. After tryouts, Brianna was told she made the varsity team. She was nervous being a freshman on varsity, feeling anxious about not knowing many people on the team, but having her older sister on the team helped to alleviate some of the stress.

“I was really excited when I made varsity and kinda surprised, I thought I was going to make JV,” Brianna said. “It is good to know and to feel like I am really close with someone and to be with someone I know. It will be different with her being gone, after playing with her so many times in our backyard.”

Since it’s Courtney’s last year on the team, she was very excited to play with a new group of girls including her sister. To help Brianna become familiar with how the FHN girls volleyball team works, Courtney has been giving her tips including advice on how high  school volleyball is different than club and what to expect between games. Unfortunately, Courtney sprained her ankle near the beginning of the season and has only played one game with her sister, but the two are looking forward to conitnue playing together later in the season after her recovery.

“Courtney was definitely my inspiration to play volleyball,” Brianna said. “We’ve always got along really well and I’m really excited to be on varsity with her this year, even though it’ll be the last time we play together.”

Both sisters plan to soak in all of the memories and time spent playing together during this season since it is Courtney’s final year on the team, but Brianna plans to continue playing throughout high school.

“It is definitely bittersweet just because all of the emotions are a lot to take in,” Courtney said.  “My goal for this season, since it is my last, is to just make memories. It is the last time, so try to have the most fun and enjoy it the most.”