This is part one of a three part series featuring area athletes in fall 2025 sports. [VIEW PART 2]

The start of fall sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future.

Riverside Athletes

Joci Cummings

School you attend? Riverside High School

Sport? Varsity Volleyball

Grade? Senior

How many years have you have participated? This will be my 6th year playing

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I think my biggest strength is my ability to spot serve and my coachability

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of volleyball is the feeling after winning a long rally

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rival is definitely Ellwood City

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory is when we were tied in the 5th set with Ellwood and I served the winning point

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? Something I’ve learned through playing sports is that coaches look for a good attitude and coachability more than just talent

What are your future plans after graduation? Right now I am undecided in my major

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? I want to continue my softball career and play in college

Ayla Sterner

School you attend? Riverside

Sport? Volleyball

Grade? 12

How many years have you have participated? 4 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I feel my biggest strength is staying positive and encouraging to other teammates

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of it is the relationships you build with different teammates everyday at practice

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I feel our biggest rivalry is Ellwood City

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? I’ve learned that having a good coach and a team that believes in you changes the game completely

What are your future plans after graduation? I am undecided what i’m going to do after school but I plan to go to a 4/5 year college to study either communication science and disorders or early education

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? I do not plan to play sports after high school

Elliot Hardy

School you attend? Riverside High School

Sport? Volleyball

Grade? 12th grade

How many years have you have participated? 4 years participating

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I bring consistency, composure under pressure, and I am a utility player who is willing to do whatever for the team to succeed.

What is your favorite part of it? I love the competitiveness and strategy of the game and the teamwork it takes to pull it off.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I think Shenango or Neshannock because they are both great programs, and they both have a lot of great returning players.

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory is beating Ellwood in 5 sets in our home gym. This was a big section win for our young program.

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? Sports have taught me that in order to succeed you have to have a goal, a plan to get there, and the determination to put in the work everyday. I have also learned how important communication is with teammates and coaches because trust is a huge part of a team sport.

What are your future plans after graduation? I plan to attend college and major in secondary education and special education.

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? Yes, I hope to play volleyball in college.

Isabella White

School you attend? Riverside High School

Sport? Volleyball

Grade? 12

How many years have you have participated? 6 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength? My mental toughness

What is your favorite part of it? Being apart of a program that wants to win and wants to make a name for itself

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? Being a part of a program that wants to win and wants to make a name for itself

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? How much effort and work you put into something is just as valuable as how good you are at it.

What are your future plans after graduation? My future plans are to attend college to further my education

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? It would be a great opportunity to play volleyball in college

Bella Romanio

School you attend? Riverside

Sport? Soccer

Grade? 12

How many years have you have participated? 14 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength? My biggest strength is my versatility and coachability on the field

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part is getting close with all of the younger girls on the team and getting to be like a big sister for them!

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I feel like our biggest rivalry this season is going to be Freedom. We beat them last season for the first time in years and they’re probably one of the most physical teams in our section

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory over the years was getting to do spirit week and team bonding with all of my best friends my senior year

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? My favorite lesson that I have learned is that you can’t take everything that happens to you personally

What are your future plans after graduation? My future plans after high school are to continue attending CCBC and enter the RADTech program

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? Unfortunately, I do not plan to continue to play sports after high school

Susann Bishop

School you attend? Riverside

Sport? Volleyball

Grade? I am in grade 12

How many years have you have participated? This will be my fifth year playing Riverside Volleyball

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I feel my biggest strength is my positive attitude on the court.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of the game is when everyone starts to work together and your teammates can trust one another to play their role.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rivalry is Ellwood.

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory over these past few years was winning our first game against Ellwood last year.

What is one thing that you have learned through your participation in sports that will carry with you through your life? One life lesson volleyball has taught me is that you have to learn to work together with those around you.

What are your future plans after graduation? After graduation, I will be attending Westminster to study Early and Special Education.

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? Yes, I plan to play volleyball at Westminster.