ABOVE: GHEC/T/ML outside hitter Londyn Bowers attempts to dig a ball to her teammates during Thursday night’s contest against Cleveland at Granada-Huntley-East Chain High School. Photo by Vanessa Schultze.

GRANADA – This past Tuesday, Prep Dig – a website known for its high school volleyball coverage and collegiate recruiting – released its weekly Player of the Week nominations.

Amongst the names of talented players at the high school level, many of whom are already committed to Division I universities, was none other than Londyn Bowers, an outside hitter for the Granada Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther volleyball program.

While results from this poll won’t be released until early next week, this nomination alone testifies to the successful career this senior has had with the Jaguars.

Her career in the sport started when Bowers was in fourth grade. Despite not being able to tell you the rhyme or reason for initially picking up the ball, she vividly remembers practicing hits while in her father’s workshop, instantly falling in love with the sport from that point on.

Even with Bowers picking up sports like softball and basketball along the way, the spark she felt for volleyball was something these other activities simply couldn’t replicate.

“When I started playing it, immediately, I loved it and everything about it,” Bowers said. “Volleyball is something I always wanted to do. It’s something that has always been close to my heart, and I have always felt a passion for it.”

In seventh grade, however, her volleyball career would ignite. This paved the way for the long tenured varsity tenure Jaguar fans have seen and grown accustomed to over the years.

First taste of action

During 2020-2021, Bowers found herself serving as the starting libero on the GHEC/T/ML Girls B team coached by current varsity headman TJ Williams.

With the adjusted season having no playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the varsity roster was finishing up its season on the road against St. Clair for the team’s final game.

It was here that Bowers got her first taste of varsity volleyball. Getting called up by former head coach Paul Steinhaus, the young talent was able to play a handful of points in what was the team’s second victory of the season.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” Bowers said. “If that’s how I could put it, it was terrifying. Was it exciting? Absolutely. But I was absolutely scared. But then, I got to say I experienced it. It was something you don’t get to do when you are that young.”

This little bit of action propelled Bowers into what was the official start of her varsity career.

With Williams tagging along and filling what is now his current position in the program going forward, Bowers was not only ready for her new role, but the beginning of her focusing even more on the sport.

Commitment to

the sport

It was during her eighth-grade year that the sport of volleyball began to separate itself from the other hobbies in her life.

Bowers began to attend different summer camps and clinics around the state of Minnesota. These were opportunities where she could sharpen her skills through continued exposure to the sport.

“She puts a lot of time not even in the gym,” Williams said. “We tell everybody, ‘The more that you touch a volleyball, the better you are,’ and you can see that this has helped her just having a volleyball around her all the time.”

The mix of camps and joining a club volleyball team during her freshman year propelled Bowers in terms of talent and skill.

However, the biggest credit to the success Bowers has had over the years was the ability to constantly compete against talented individuals, many of whom continued their respective playing careers beyond high school.

“Something I feel like helped develop me as a player was playing up and always getting experience,” Bowers said.

“If you look back, there were so many girls who went to play at the next level,” Bowers said. “When I was younger, there were so many good girls we got to play against that also helped me as a player as well.”

Varsity tenure

From 2021 to 2023, during Bowers’ eighth through 10th grade seasons, GHEC/T/ML was unable to establish consistency as a program. The Jaguars posted a 23-61 record, failing to make it beyond the second round of the Section 2A South playoff bracket.

But in 2024, GHEC/T/ML had a season to remember. The Jaguars went 16-13 on the year, highlighted by a seven-game win streak that propelled the team to the best record in program history.

Despite falling to Mayer Lutheran in the second round of the section playoffs, this year will always be in the hearts of all supporters of Jaguar athletics.

Now, after returning a handful of key pieces from last season, Bowers expects another big year from her and the team.

“Last year, it was kind of like ‘You guys did that,'” Bowers said. “It was our best record we have ever had as Jaguars, and it just made us realize that we can be great, we just all need to care and love it equally.”

Finishing strong

These years on varsity have helped Bowers beyond the hardwood, turning the talented outside hitter into more of a leadership role entering 2025. She has taken it on herself to become a voice and the person the rest of her teammates can lean on when faced with adversity.

“I feel like something that has helped me develop as a player is always playing up and getting that experience,” Bowers said. “Now that I am finally in my senior year, I can be a leader and show all the girls on my team that we are one.”

The goal for Bowers in her final year goes beyond simply contributing to another record-breaking season for the program.

While having another year end above the .500 mark is always on her mind, the senior wants her impact on the program to go further than that.

“The girls younger than me, I just want to make them believe in themselves,” Bowers said. “Realize that, even if you are from a small school, you can do great things, and people will figure out who you are. I also want to give them the passion I had to just love the sport, because you only get to play high school volleyball once.”