Volleyball’s promising season ends

Nicholas ZarchenStaff WriterAfter beating San Gorgonio on Oct. 9, the Samo girls’ volleyball team was set to play the team ranked second-best in the Golden League, the Lancaster Eagles.The girls took the two-hour journey to Lancaster High on Oct. 11, where they met their toughest opponents yet.The girls went into the match confident. But, as the match progressed, Samo made errors and began to break down.Although the team had a successful season, their second round match against Lancaster ended in an unfortunate loss 25-22, 18-25, 10-25, 21-25.“Our goal was to put up a fight, and I think we did that. But we fell short and it’s something to learn from,” sophomore middle blocker Joslyn Hayes said.Going up against a tough team and a loud crowd, the girls stayed focused and drove through Lancaster’s block. Samo took victory in the first game, showing they were there to win.However, at the beginning of the second game, the competition heated up. Samo made several serving errors and eventually fell to Lancaster’s persistent defense.A series of controversial calls and errors in communication arose to challenge the team in the third game. Though the girls fought through the game, Samo’s offense could not recapture its earlier vigor. The team made eight uncharacteristic hitting errors and Lancaster gained a 2-1 lead.With the thunderous cheers of their fans to fuel them, the Lancaster girls took another win in the fourth set, denying the Samo girls a CIF victory.Although they only made it to the second round of CIF, Samo girls’ volleyball has had an overall successful season. The girls won league, beating their rivals Beverly Hills and Culver  City in intense games earlier this season. They have become stronger as a team and have great outlook for next year, in spite of the impending loss of three senior players.In spite of an early end to their CIF run, the girls were proud of their season.“It’s been an amazing and successful season. Even though we only got to round two we grew as a team. Even the little things made it great: traveling to Hawaii, winning League, beating Beverly both times, being in the playoffs and even going all the way to Lancaster,” senior setter Tess Walther said.The Samo girls also hope  to learn from their mistakes and achievements this season.“Throughout our season, we’ve improved a ton and we’ve gotten a lot closer as a team. It’s been so much fun to play with these girls this season — I love each and every one of them and I’m sad to see the season end,” junior outside hitter Sarah Krenik said. “Our last game really showed us what we need to work on for next year. I know that we will improve our skills and work hard in order to come back even stronger next season.”nzarchen@thesamohi.com