The girls varsity volleyball team was one point away from winning their first game. Their glow from the first set turned into a full sweat by the third. The girls watched the other team volley the ball back and forth to get it back over the net. Bump, bump, out. 

On Aug. 17 the girls varsity volleyball team played their first game of the season against St. Monica. They won three consecutive sets (games), taking home their first victory. 

The team prepared for their first game back from summer through strength training. Coach Martin said he saw improvement in the team from the beginning of last week to now.

“Last week, they were kind of slow and sluggish due to the time off from volleyball. However, as time went by, they got stronger, more energetic, more livelier,and—I don’t know— happier,” Martin said. “That’s all I want. I want them to be happy.”

Last week’s preparation evidently paid off. The team won their first set with a score of 25-17, and the energy boost from the first set carried with them into the second, achieving a score of 25-12 Beverly.

Junior Liana Soroudi plays libero (back-row defense) on the team. Soroudi said, “we were more relieved, and our nerves were gone because we finished our first game. We were more confident duringour second game because we already won our first set.”

The team radiated through to the third and final set, which finished with the score 25-19 Beverly. 

“I was so proud of us. I was jumping up and down cheering,” fellow junior and libero Maya Nejathaim said.

Soroudi said varsity plans to carry their “positive mindset” from the first game with them to their home game against Larchmont on Aug. 29.

“We’re forming a story together, and this is just the beginning of our story,” the coach said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week. It could be a bad chapter. However, in stories, it can always turn around.”