Girls volleyball: Rebuilding what’s broken

BY ISABEL VALLES

THE MIRROR ATHLETICS EDITOR

It would be an understatement to say that the girls volleyball team has had a rocky season.

Out of the 23 games played, the team has won six.

This is a great decline compared to last season, in which the girls had a record of 14 wins and 10 losses.

From the very beginning, the team faced a five-game losing streak. In the season opener against Vaughn High School, they lost 2-1.

“Losing that first game of the season, a lot of us were frustrated because we did try our best,” Varsity captain Bella Mokhtari said.

According to Varsity outside and opposite hitter Samantha Sirichai, the team’s first loss was eye-opening. After seeing how effectively other teams communicated and worked together, it was apparent that the girls weren’t prepared for what they were up against.

“We were still getting used to working together as a team,” Varsity setter Ranisha Patel said. “We were missing a lot of players so we had a lot of people playing different positions that they weren’t used to.”

Varsity setter Alyssa Islas graduated last year. Losing Islas has left a gaping hole in the team.

“Alyssa was our everything,” Varsity middle block Kenzey Jones said. “She helped all of us out and I don’t think any one person could ever do what she did for us. I feel like all of us together need to learn how to be that person for each other.”

Islas was invaluable to the team’s morale.

“It’s an unrecognizable environment now,” Mokhtari said. “Losing Alyssa definitely made us feel like we didn’t know what else to do and we really needed to build off of that. We’re all learning individually and as a team how to adjust to the changes and just trying to be able to manage.”

Patel agrees with this sentiment.

I think this year we just lack a certain person that is holding us together.”

This year, the team doesn’t have an official leader and is dependent on returning players to help guide the team.

“We rotate the leaders now,” girls volleyball manager Devon Brown said. “We don’t have one consistent person who runs this.”

Two years ago, the team was led by a very demanding coach. As a result of his leadership, the girls were able to win many games against teams that they have lost to this season. The coach was later fired at the end of the boys season, with no reason given to the team.

An evident issue the team notices is a severe lack of commitment because they felt like the team wasn’t the same without Islas.

“Last year, I noticed that nobody missed practice,” Patel said. “Even if you did miss practice, you would have to send a note explaining why you were missing practice. This year, a lot of the team is just not as committed to the sport, so that’s a very big factor in how we play at games and how our team works.”

“After losing an authority figure like Alyssa, we don’t really have accountability anymore,” Patel said. “We tend to slack off and get in our heads a lot rather than trying to move on.”

According to varsity outside hitter Adrienne Mita, the team’s chemistry is also suffering as a result of Islas’ absence.

“I think we just lack a lot of team chemistry,” Mita said. “Alyssa was the mom figure for a lot of the team and everyone looked at her as a friend. She helped build team chemistry and

Having reflected on their season, the girls volleyball team plans to use their losses as motivation to improve and come back stronger than ever.

Though the team’s fate is uncertain, the future looks bright. A player who has really stood out as a leader is Mokhtari. She has been on the team since her freshman year and has coached the boys JV volleyball team.

Various players, including Mokhtari, show immense promise and may be the glue that puts the team back together in coming years.