Ava Spina staff writer
The girls varsity volleyball team lost 3-0 to the California Condors, wrapping up their first and last CIF match. The first set ended with a score of 25-19, the second 23-15 and the third 25-16.
“We [the team] had been practicing every day for the entire season. All of our games leading to playoffs prepared us for this more competitive game,” middle blocker junior Dylan Van Rossum said.
The Normans played well at the start of the game, earning one point within the first minute. Quickly, the Condors were able to tie the score. From this moment on, the score frequently fluctuated between the teams. Setter junior Akira Carey, captain senior Hannah Khorramiand, and hitter senior Kylie Goldstein worked together to earn the team the majority of their points. However, their work was not enough to defeat the Condors in this set.
At the start of the second set, the Normans missed the first serve by the Condors, setting the tone for the rest of the set. Serve after serve, the Normans were unable to secure a single point. It wasn’t until the fifth serve when the Normans received one point when the ball went out of bounds.
From that point on, the Normans began to pick up the pace, with Khorrami bumping the ball and scrambling the Condors, giving the Normans another point. For a brief moment in the set, the Normans were on a point streak but could not maintain it. The Normans lost their momentum as the team struggled to get control of the ball. Khorrami, Van Rossum and Goldstein had synchronized seconds before the end of the set. But, the Normans still straggled behind.
In between sets, Van Rossum said that the time spent with the team and the coach as a period during which the team provided “words of encouragement” and celebrated their “positive” successes to keep them “focused and working hard.”
One last set was left in the game, with the overall score being 2-0. The third set started with the Normans earning one point due to a foul. Junior Naina Mejia got a hold of the ball, giving her the chance to put the Normans in the lead. However, the Normans’ time in the forefront was cut short by the Condors.
The overall score 3-0. The game marked the end of the season for the girls varsity volleyball team.
“[The] game taught me about how volleyball is not just about my personal performance, but how the team can work together,” Van Rossum said. “I’m really looking forward to next season. I think we will be able to go really far again.”
