Girls Volleyball Defeats Beverly Hills 3-0 In First League Game

Excitement was in the air on Sept. 29 as the girls volleyball team took to the court for warmups. On the other side of the net, awaited Samo’s long-time rival, Beverly Hills High School. In the past, Samo had managed to succeed against Beverly, and every other opponent they played at home, resulting in an impressive 6-0 home record at the end of the 2014-2015 season.As the match commenced, Samo got into position, led by captains Brooke Earkman (’16) and Maria Di Franco (’16). Samo quickly took control of the match, returning Beverly’s serves and turning them into offensive opportunities. The team continued setting up Di Franco for shots at the net, and her many on-target spikes quickly helped the team secure the first set of the match, with a score of 25-10.The girls kept their momentum going in the second set, leading 18-8 after the second timeout of the set. After the brief break, the Samo team got the home crowd roaring with approval after many powerful spikes from Earkman. Samo did not allow Beverly to come back, and they closed out the second set 25-10.Up two sets to none, the Vikings were determined to build upon last year’s perfect home record. With Sophie Major (’18) being a rock on the defensive side several attacking opportunities were being set for Allie Barrett (’17), who joined Earkman and Di Franco in getting past Beverly’s defense. The girls kept the positive energy going, and they managed to steal the final set 25-16, winning the match 3-0.After the game, the team was in high spirits, relieved to have gotten the win, although head coach Wynn Trinh was already focused on what the team could improve on.“We still have a lot of little things we need to work on, but we are starting to play like a team, good ball or bad ball, we played like a team and I like that,” Trinh said. “They [the team] played pretty well, but we mainly need to improve our defense.”According to Di Franco, the team did a great job of communicating, though they still have some  room to grow.“I think we could work on being more aggressive with our passing, running plays, and also having faster sets” Di Franco said.Overall, the team was happy with their performance, but Earkman also realizes that in order to be successful, they have to become closer.“We have to improve on talking,” Earkman said. “We are very individual on the court on we have to work on being more of a family.”According to Earkman, the team has a long road ahead of them, but as they begin to bond more, and become a family, they will reach their goals. They will now travel to Hawthorne High School on Oct.1 in search of another win.