Girls volleyball in first home game

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the North Gym was filled with anxious spectators waiting to watch the first girls varsity volleyball home game of the season, vs. Lawndale High School, in which Samo won 3-0. Before the game begun, players and onlookers alike felt the nerves in the air as the minutes before the first serve of the season ticked by. These nerves were quickly eliminated, however, the moment the ball flew into the air. The team worked cohesively as a well trained unit, and by three minutes into the first set they were already up by eight points. Before the audience had a chance to settle in, Samo had already annihilated Lawndale in the first of five sets, with a score 28-5. Dylan Leight (’20), varsity setter, started the game with a pressure to do well, but felt that fade away as soon as they won the first set.“I definitely was pretty nervous as the game started, but then began to become a lot more comfortable as we started working together. Everyone was able to play together right off the bat, and that continued into the second and third set,” Leight said.Tensions from the beginning of the game began to disappear as it became clear that Samo had a much higher skill level than their opponents. As the team began their second set, spirits and morale were high, and the audience began to chant and cheer profusely to root on the girls. With the combination of expertise and hard work, Samo defeated Lawndale in the second set, with co-captain, Sophie Major (’18), scoring the winning point.“[Coming out of the second set] we remained very focused and worked well together to stay level headed. I think that we started very strong and wanted to continue that,” Major said.Because the game is the best out of five sets, Samo only had to win one more set to end the match. Tired but ready for victory, the team started their third set with a smaller lead. After four minutes of the third set the score was only 7-4, and the spectators were getting nervous. Gathering their energy and perseverance, the girls worked even harder than before and leapt into a high lead by the seven minute mark.As the third set ended with another Samo win, the audience roared in cheers. The girls gathered to thank the other team and then rejoice in their first victory. Coach Sato was especially proud of her team’s performance. “It was a great team effort! I think we played really well as a team and everybody contributed to our victory,” Sato said. With a win under their belt, the team now has to focus on their next game against Torrance.