Jumping, yelling, hugs, high-fives — Gig Harbor volleyball’s Yerex a bundle of energy

Gig Harbor volleyball is back on top in the Class 3A South Sound Conference, thanks to its 3-1 win over Capital last week. Senior outside hitter Hannah Yerex is leading the charge, both with her play on the court and with her emotion.

The emotion Yerex plays with is obvious to anyone who watches a Tides’ game this season. Jumping, yelling, hugs, high-fives — all par for the course for Yerex during matches.

“She has a lot of passion. She’s energetic,” Gig Harbor coach Melissa Klein said, taking a short pause. “All the time. Which is awesome for us, because teams need a couple girls like that on the team.”

Senior outside hitter Lauren Hatfield is a bit quieter, letting her play do the talking. That style contrasts quite a bit with Yerex, who brings a fiery demeanor to the court.

“She definitely brings a lot of energy,” Hatfield said of her teammate. “She’s always been that way. I play club with her also. She definitely changes the momentum on the court. When she’s on, you can really tell. It changes the effort of our whole team.”

Yerex is aware that type of energy is contagious.

“That’s kind of my thing — I like to bring the energy,” Yerex said. “I like to get the team hyped up. Especially when we’re down, I think it’s even more important to be excited, to be focused on the game. I like to bring that to the team.”

Yerex finished with 12 kills, 17 digs and three aces in Gig Harbor’s crucial league win over Capital.

“I think this shows we can work hard and come back,” Yerex said. “We went undefeated last year, so everyone was out for our head this season. We lost our first match. To come back and win this tonight, it shows we’re working hard and we’re going to come back and make a strong run in state. That’s our goal.”

Yerex, along with Hatfield and hard-hitting senior Hadassah Ward, have a chance to get the Tides deep into the Class 3A state tournament this year.

One thing is certain: Yerex will be fired up for the postseason.

“She’s never tired,” Klein said. “It’s great.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Jumping, yelling, hugs, high-fives — Gig Harbor volleyball’s Yerex a bundle of energy."