Samantha Bach is a fierce competitor, and this past fall for the Handley volleyball team, she helped the Judges program make some big improvements... improvements that were a long time coming.
"Th team struggled in her 10th and 11th grade years" admitted Samantha's coach Vaughn Kusko. "She just decided, along with some of the other girls, that they were going to make it happen this year."

In her senior year Bach was named 2nd team all-northwestern district. But Samantha didn't merely serve as a leader by example...while her play demanded the respect of her peers, Bach was never afraid to vocalize her control over the team. "Even if we lost 2 games in a row there's always another game" says Bach. "That's the attitude I tried to put across". "Behind that nice smile, there is this pretty fierce competitor" noted Kusko, "and I think people are surprised when they see that on the court."

Her 4.2 grade point average more than proves that Samantha can keep her calm under the stress of any test. But this honor student often looks to volleyball as an escape from the pressures of academics.
"Competing... you get pumped up for it" she says. " When you get to the game there is this energy burst"

Congratulations to Samantha Bach of Handley High School, our TV3 Winchester Student Athlete of the Week.