Senior Captain Sophia Wang is regarded as one of the best players in the Red Division and Middlesex County for girls volleyball. However, Sophia aka “Wangstop” is not just one of the star athletes for the Hawks varsity volleyball team but is also a pillar in the JPS community. 

Sophia started playing volleyball when she was in the eighth grade after her friend got her to start playing. This season, according to her peers, she has had a massive improvement after being a member of the varsity volleyball team here at JPS for three seasons. In fact, her only goals for the season were to be a good captain for her team and to lead by example. Sophia did not care about the final results but rather the emotional part of the game to make sure that her team was there for one other. This eventually helped her in the long run and led her to achieve her accomplishments this season.

During Sophia’s senior year, she put up all-star level numbers as she had a total of 191 kills in all of her games this season. That was averaging over six kills a game! She also has 193 service points this season along with 103 digs. Sophia feels strongly about the honor of being a Hawk. In fact, her favorite part about being a member of the volleyball team was “talking with my teammates and doing handshakes during the lineup check before the start of the game. When I graduate, I’ll miss volleyball the most because it’ll probably be my last time playing such a close-knit, school organized sport.” 

  One of the co-captains of the girls volleyball team, senior Chloe Chan remarked that “Sophia works hard to make sure that everyone is included and she takes her time to get to know the team.”

Along with being the one of the co-captains of the volleyball team, Sophia is the president of the National English Honor Society, a member of the Student Council Executive Board, and a member of the Science Olympiad team. Outside of school, Sophia enjoys listening to the Beatles and watching her favorite movie, “Knives Out.” She also loves to eat ramen, volunteer at St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter, work as an aerotech for JJPL, and play the piano. 

This season has been one of the best for Sophia as she has been selected as a member of the first team all-red division as well as the all-conference team for the 2024-2025 season. She has also helped lead the Hawks to 21 wins in a season. This number is the second most wins that the program has had in 15 years. The team also reached the semi-final in the state tournament. As a valued member of the JPS community, we wish her luck in all of her future endeavors as she plans to major in biomedical engineering and pursue a doctorate. We just know that Sophia will save as many lives in the OR as she has on the volleyball court.