After the end of the fall sports season, Wildcats’ senior captain and middle, opposite and outside hitter Wendy Liu earned the Montgomery County All-County Player of the Year award for being the county’s best volleyball player as well as Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention. Liu led the Wildcats’ quick turnaround from having a 4-11 record in 2021 to a 10-6 record (including playoffs) in 2022 where the Wildcats reached the second round of postseason play.
“She was probably the best leader on our team. She was always there to pump you up if you were feeling down. She was like the coach on the court for us and it was really good to have somebody there to guide us,” sophomore setter and All-County Honorable Mention Sofia Silberfeld said.
Much of the momentum for the season was built up by an early victory over the Richard Montgomery Rockets, 3-1. Liu helped solidify her spot as one of the top players in the county during this upset victory.
“When we beat RM, our team was so thrilled because we hadn’t beaten them in a long time … Wendy led that game with such power and commitment that I knew she would be voted by all the coaches in the county to be the best player of the year,” senior captain and defensive specialist Megan Fannon said.
Hard work, teamwork and determination helped Liu and the Wildcats earn their best record since 2018.
“I felt really proud of myself because I worked really hard the last four years playing for Walter Johnson and improving my skills through club, so winning the award made me feel really accomplished and proud of my achievements,” Liu said.
Liu and Fannon’s leadership as captains was also a major factor in the success of the Wildcats this season. With communication being such an important element of volleyball, bringing the team together was very important for the Wildcats.
“It was our team dynamic that brought us far. Wendy and I tried our best to unite the team with team bonding and being friends outside of practices and that friendship really got us the furthest we could in our games,” Fannon said.
