Ciara Parizek/MDN Sylvie Kramer braces herself for the Kenmare Honkers' serve during the final regular-season game on Wednesday.

Bishop Ryan Catholic School senior Sylvie Kramer enjoys playing volleyball much more than she thought.

At first, Kramer didn’t want to play volleyball at all in sixth grade because she wasn’t interested in it. She didn’t have any knowledge of the sport and had never played it before. Some of her friends and her mother encouraged her just to try it.

“I’m glad they did,” she said, “because it’s my favorite sport now.”

Just as she did last year, Kramer is playing this season as an outside hitter for the Lions. During her freshman and sophomore years, her position was middle hitter. Originally, she wanted to be a setter, but that “never worked out.”

The position of outside hitter is her preferred position because “you get all the weird balls that are thrown up.” She referred to those as “out-of-system balls.”

“It just gives you a lot more opportunities,” Kramer continued. “It’s really fun to see the whole court and hit against the whole court.”

Over the course of seven years, she and her teammates have made special bonds. “My favorite part about volleyball is the friendships that I’ve made through it and all the memories.”

In addition to making friends, she enjoys the competitive aspect of the sport.

“It’s easy to turn something around in one point. It’s a fast game,” she said.

One of her strengths is her ability to read the ball. She can sometimes predict where the other team is going to put the ball. On the other side of things, she said she can always continue to work on passing the ball.

This year is her first year playing in the back row and she said she is getting the hang of it pretty quickly.

Kramer not only plays volleyball, but also basketball and softball.

She plans to go to college, possibly for something in the medical field, as she really likes science and math. Minot State University and the University of North Dakota are in her sights as prospects for her higher education, but she does not plan on playing volleyball in college. Her main concern after high school is education and getting into a career.

She doesn’t plan to completely give up volleyball, though. After college, she hopes to play again in a recreation league.

Kramer loves volleyball and her future break will only be temporary. For now, she and her teammates are looking forward to the district tournament and how far they can go.