In her early years, Katherine Ferng, now a senior and captain, was inspired by her mother to play volleyball. “My mom played so that was what really got me into volleyball,” Ferng explained. “[Katherine] is a talented 5’11” setter and right-side hitter/ blocker. She has been a starting varsity player for all of her high school career. Currently, she is co/captain of the team,” second-year varsity coach Eleanore Barry said.
After high school, Ferng will continue her volleyball career, playing Division I at Iona University. Ferng always looks to help the team in any way she can throughout the season. Junior Jessica Strohofer concurred:“When Katherine is on and off the court, she is always there to support you if you mess up.” Ferng will also help her teammates by giving out words of encouragement to them if they are in a slump during practices and games.
Throughout her journey, some of her favorite memories have been of the many tournaments she participated in. In addition to playing the sport she loves at the tournaments, Ferng found it was a great opportunity to become closer with her teammates: “Going to tournaments with my travel team is a lot of fun.” She is also super excited to play her final season at LHS.
As a self-motivator, Ferng never lets anyone get in her head during the game, including herself. Ferng had some words of encouragement that she would give to younger players regarding the ability to stay in the game: “Don’t get down on yourself, never give up, and always work hard.” A huge aspect of the game of volleyball is the player’s mentality, and it is particularly easy to let mistakes and opponents become distractions. To avoid this, Ferng tends to play her own game and does not let mind tricks take over.
Sportsmanship is also a huge part of Ferng’s game, and she takes it extremely seriously. She would much rather lose a point than talk back to any of the officials at her games as well as not taunting an opponent. “I think it is always great to be a good sport and to not be rude to your opponent or the refs,” she explained.
“Katherine is a dedicated, hard-working athlete, and a team leader by example.” Barry described. “Her strengths include her competitiveness combined with her ‘court sense’, accountability, and ability to read the opponent and adjust. She is a true team player,” she added.
In addition to her college-level volleyball skills, Ferng also has a knack for communicating while playing on the court and taking over as the leader. Strohofer remarked, “[Ferng] is an incredible leader, she plays confidently, and her communication skills really stand out to me. If we lose a point, she will talk about what we can do to fix it so we can win the point back.” Ferng will never be caught on the court without any of these essential skills: leadership, communication, and confidence.
As the season goes on, Ferng is locked in punching her team’s ticket to the playoffs to return back for one final playoff run. Last year, the team was not as successful as they hoped, as they entered the playoffs but had a quick disappointing first round exit that was unlike the mentality Ferng and the varsity volleyball team had set. Instead, she is hoping to end her senior season with a bang and make a deeper playoff run with the skills the team as a whole developed.
Sadly, Ferng cannot play for Lynbrook volleyball forever and will be forced to move on following the closing of this season. However, the standard Ferng has set for aspiring volleyball athletes across Lynbrook is evident in the number of late-elementary and early-middle school children who attended the Dig Pink clinic. Ferng has nothing but glowing things to say about the future of Lynbrook volleyball.
