Volleyball players got closer to experiencing a more normal season this year. 

“Coming into school has definitely had a positive effect on the team because we have extended practices after school now,” varsity volleyball junior Angie Barrera said. “We’re connecting more with each other because of [the transition].”

To bond, the girls have gotten breakfast at IHOP and watched a volleyball game at George Mason University. For the first time since 2019, the upperclassmen set up a “rude awakening,” a tradition done once a year during preseason where they wake up the freshmen at 6 a.m. and take them to breakfast in their pajamas.

Alongside these friendships, players have been doing well on the court compared to last year. This year’s record is 11-4 while last year’s was 6-7. However, varsity won the district championship last year. The freshman, JV and varsity teams will play against Madison High School on Oct. 19 and Oakton High School on Oct. 21 to end the regular season. Varsity will be playing regionals in early November.

“The team this year is working hard to increase the speed and level we play at so that we can bring that into game settings,” varsity volleyball senior Carley Denis said. “This will allow us to hopefully reach our goal of making it to regionals again” 

To prepare, players practice every day and play games one to two times a week. A typical day of practice is two hours long, starting by going into the weight room and doing warm-up exercises with the weights, followed by pass-set-hit drills, scrimmages, defense drills and court rotations.

Apart from school practices, players strength train and focus on endurance and agility. 

“Outside of school, I go to a lot of clinics and I also have a True Athlete Performance trainer whom I go to for agility and strength training,” JV volleyball junior Lee said. “I sometimes go to open gyms or sand courts to practice.

JV has hopes to win their last two games, against Madison High School and Oakton High School. To prepare for these games the team has been polishing skills outside of regular school practices allowing players to improve skills on the court. Their record this season is 11-2 with two upcoming games.

“We had a goal of beating Langley since we lost to them in region-semi’s but we achieved that goal [Sept. 8]” Barerra said.

The varsity team this year is working hard to increase the speed and level they play at so that they can bring that into game settings. This will, hopefully, allow them to reach their goal of making it to regionals once again.  

“Being on the team helps me be more social with others. During quarantine I built my social skills, and now I can communicate better with my team,” Lee said. “But, this transition is beneficial for the team because of spectators and having supporters and seeing teammates in the hallway really motivates me.”