Girls volleyball concludes season in quarterfinals

In their 2016 season, the girls volleyball team clenched the title of Ocean League Champions and moved on to the third round in CIF. Although their season has come to a close, they are proud of what they have accomplished this season and are hopeful for the future. On Nov. 5, the team brought their season to an end, losing their match against Claremont High School in the quarterfinals of the CIF championships, 3-1.In light of their loss, coach Liane Sato acknowledged the capabilities of the team and how that makes it more difficult to accept the end of the season. “We’re a little disappointed that we ended short,” Sato said. “We just didn’t play well enough to win on Saturday. The other team was really good, they were ranked number two [while] we were ranked number ten. Even so, I think we had a good shot, but we just didn’t close it up.” A lot of the players felt the same way, and were disappointed that their previously expressed standards of making it to the finals in CIF were lost in the third round. Jackie Zakharin (’18) shared how disheartening it was for their season to come to an end after only getting to quarterfinals.“The season went by too quickly,” Zakharin said. “It was really sad, especially knowing that I won't be able to play with the seniors after that game. I think that we could’ve done better, but I’m still proud of us.”Even though the seniors will not be returning for the 2017 season, there were a lot of good moments that they enjoyed as a team. Elyse Gross (’19) felt that this season allowed them to make bonds and relationships that will benefit them in the future.“Even though the season went by pretty quickly,” Gross said. “It was fun to get to know new people. We also got to form a bond as a team. I think we will continue to grow next year, especially since there are only two seniors graduating this year.”Although there are plenty of feelings of disappointment throughout the team, some players like Mikayla Diamond (’19) recognize the good that can still come out of the season.“Next year I think we’ll grow a lot more,” Diamond said. “I have a feeling the team’s chemistry will be better since most of us will have been on a team together longer.” Sato also believes that the girls are going to be able to learn from this year’s mistakes and keep those things in mind when preparing for next year.“I think there are still positive things that can come out of this,” Sato said. “We’re getting a lot of experience and growth from our team and everyone is returning for next year.” All in all, the team had a highly successful season and although this year ended earlier than they hoped it would, there is a lot to expect for next year’s team.