EDWARDSVILLE - Annika Jenkins is a very experienced setter for the Metro-East Lutheran High girls volleyball team and has served as a key for the squad this season. Jenkins is a player who showed excellent leadership qualities in the 2025 campaign.
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MELHS has continued to show improvement throughout the season.
"All the girls have been working extra hard," she said earlier in the season.
She said the setter position plays such an important role on the court, and it is very important to make the plays with precision and set up the squad's hitters.
"I think our goals for the team are just to push each other to be the best we can," Jenkins said. "Everybody knows their jobs, and are working on their jobs, and for me, I personally try to be a leader and just help everybody try their hardest."
Jenkins is a BJ's Printables Female Athlete of the Month for the Knights.
Jenkins had a key game against Marquette Catholic with 15 assists in a match on Sept. 25, 2025, where MELHS won 18-25, 25-21, 25-20.
MELHS faces Roxana at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in its first match of the IHSA Class 2A Regional.
The stakes and competition also became a bit more difficult this season for the Knights, as they were promoted by the IHSA to Class 2A this season, after spending many years in Class 1A. Jenkins feels that the club is up for the challenge of playing in Class 2A, and she's also very hopeful of overall success in the playoffs.
Metro East Lutheran faces Roxana at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in the Roxana Girls Volleyball Regional.
