Campion’s volleyball team brought home the tournament trophy for the first time this last weekend after some intense playing at the Union College Volleyball Invitational Tournament.
A phenomenal experience for players and coaches alike, the entire team reminisced about their games as they returned home from Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday the 18th.
Head coach Erin Hieb and assistant Kelsey Downey, both Campion alumni, have enjoyed the 2015 season with the volleyball team.  Their team theme for this season focused on playing with 100% effort in practice and through every point, set, and match.  As coaches, they did their best to encourage good sportsmanship and determination, and really focused on helping the girls have as much fun as possible.  
Coach Kelsey felt that losing Wednesday night practice time, a new challenge this year, definitely affected the overall outcome of the season and made Tuesday and Thursday games more of a challenge because of no practice on Wednesday.  However, win or lose, she argued, the girls were able to have more time to focus on the spiritual side of life, which is what Campion is all about. The attitudes and effort of these athletes revealed a commitment to the sport, but foremost to their Savior.
On Saturday night of volleyball tournament, the Lady Cougars decided to carry on the tradition of writing a Bible verse on their hands as a reminder of Whom they truly play for.  This year the text was taken from Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  The team decided this verse was an excellent choice for a night of hard work and intense play.  With God’s help and a lot of determination from every team member, the Lady Cougars fought from the heart for their first ever victory at the Union College Volleyball Tournament. [Kelsey Downey]

Read Union College's tournament report.

Kast, now a senior film major at SAU, credits his high school English class as the place he first discovered he could tell stories through film. “It encouraged me to do what I wanted to do, and that was film.” Now he is paying it forward to Campion students who attended the workshop. “I hope that it gives the students a taste of how fun and important filmmaking can be,” he said.

Freshman Ethan Gueck, who has always been interested in film, signed up for the workshop in order to expand his skills. “I’ve been wanting to do more professional projects, and I was able to learn how to use a higher quality camera and a more advanced editing program,” he said. Junior Jose Castro, on the other hand, had never thought about getting into filmmaking. He admitted, “Now it’s something I might look into for college.”

Gueck’s documentary team created a film about their classmate Himanshu Bhantana’s experience in the recent Nepal earthquake. Castro’s group filmed Principal Don Reeder’s story about overcoming challenges as a boys’ dean.

David George, whose recent work includes directing the photography for the feature-length film Old Fashioned, was very pleased with the success of the workshop. “I hope that [the students] saw the power of story, whether it takes the written form, or is conveyed through sound or picture. Story is powerful.  After all, what is the Bible mostly comprised of?  I also hope that they see that filmmaking isn’t out of reach.”  

These Campion students now have the ability to continue learning how to create inspirational and promotional films, which is exactly what Campion technology director Steve Eickmann was hoping for. “We want as many kids as possible to get the experience of working with the camera and using it to create positive messages.”