Girls' volleyball blossoms, starting their season off with a bang

Nicholas ZarchenPhoto EditorAs they sported their blue and white uniforms and their ponytails swayed in the stale North Gym air, Samo girls’ volleyball started their season with a win as they took down their first opponent of the year — Torrance. The lady vikings came out with the victory 25-22, 25-17, 25-13; a 3-0 sweep.The girls had a few first game jitters at the start of the match, but once they racked up the kills, there was nothing that could stand in their way of a win.“I felt like we executed the skills we’ve been working on in practice really well. We came together as a team during this game and our focus was really strong throughout,” senior captain and outside hitter, Sarah Krenik said.Krenik tallied an impressive 24 kills in the match.Coming off a disappointing second round loss in CIF last year, the girls are out for vengeance.“I hope that from this point we will all just keep getting better. We are all determined to improve,” senior libero, Dana Ritchie said.In addition to their fuel for redemption, the varsity girls’ team has gained a batch of new players and are already bonding.“We are all ridiculously close with each other and I think that shows on the court. We love every new addition to our team just as much as the returners,” Ritchie said.Most significantly, two new freshman have joined the squad: Ariana Nicol and Blossom Sato. Ariana Nicol plays as a defensive specialist and Blossom Sato acts as starting setter.“Blossom played really well. Obviously setter is a huge position but she is raising the level of play for the team,” junior outside hitter, Jordan Levy, said.The upperclassmen agreed that with these new additions to the team, they can only grow stronger.“My first game was somewhat nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. The chemistry seems to be pretty good and all of the girls seem to bring a good energy on the court,” Sato, freshman setter, said.Sato later added, “I don’t really feel like a newbie on the team because I’ve known them all for so long and I already feel like I’m part of the family. The girls are very supportive. They push me everyday to make sure I’m doing the best I can do.”As for the rest of the season, the team is promising fresh talent, a new mindset, and a drive of reprisal.“I can definitely see us doing very well during our season as well as the playoff,” Krenik said.nzarchen@thesamohi.com