Consistent teamwork and good sportsmanship shone vibrantly in SLVHS’s Junior Varsity girls volleyball team on Thursday, September twenty-eighth against St. Francis, this being the SLV girls’ closest game of the season thus far, with the first game a score of 28 to 26 points, and the second game 27 to 25. With the team’s intense performance on the court, the SLV girls strongly challenged against St. Francis calling the score very near for the entirety of the game.
Grace Peters, a sophomore at SLV, mentioned to The Claw, “We all came together and we were playing as a team. We play best when our energy is high, and for us that game was the most energetic we have been. I am proud of our team for keeping our heads high on the court.” Throughout the season so far, the volleyball team has gradually developed more confidence and trustworthiness in their bonded team, allowing them to perform better and more consistently.
The JV Girls team’s Coach Sydney Mongiello, who is new to coaching the girls, as this is her first year, was interviewed about the game and expressed, “I think they worked as a team to accomplish goals and worked to compete against the other team. To them, it was bringing their best game and focusing on consistency. By keeping the focus on each individual play, the girls were able to bring their best efforts into each point.” The team’s reliance on one another has been a very large aspect of their group synergy and cooperation. Coach Sydney also noted, “Gaining trust in a team is not a fast process. It takes time to build relationships and gain trust. From the beginning of the season to now, team efforts have increased immensely, which has been really fun to watch.”
As the season progresses, the girls have found that the more certainty they have in the strength of their team, the more progression they will see. Although the wholeness of the game was exemplary, there were highlights of the game that were action-packed. Players like Jami Van Eyck accomplished seven aces and four kills to add to the team’s collective total of thirteen aces and eleven kills they rounded up. Adding more pressure to the opposing team was Taylor Still who got a block against St. Francis and helping her own team with highly beneficial performance. Mia Torres, also a sophomore from SLV, quoted, “The game was really exciting. We worked hard and worked together.” This game itself has helped to show the girls’ volleyball team that with their team effort, they are destined for more great games and great breakthroughs in the future season and more to come.
By Kayla Penny
Photo courtesy of Mia Torres
Grace Peters (left) and Olivia Hart-Saso (right)
The Claw 