Varsity volleyball concludes record breaking season

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Photo credit: Nelly Rouzroch

The varsity team lines up before the CIF-SS championship game. This is the first time in Archer history that a team has won a championship title.

The 2017-2018 varsity volleyball season was the team’s best in school history. The Panthers won the Division 7 CIF-SS Final, becoming the first Archer team ever to win a championship.

Archer then continued onto the Division 4 CIF State Playoff.

In the first round they faced Chatsworth, who Archer swept in three sets.

On Nov. 18 the Panthers moved on to the second round against Heritage Christian, a team Archer had previously defeated — but this time the results were different. The Panthers fell in five sets after a close match. The score was 25-11, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20 and 19-17.

In the line-up, the Panthers were missing Rachael Boehm ’18 and Stella Smyth ’19. Both were on the Archer Abroad trip to Cambodia. 

I am proud of [the team’s] growth,” Cydney Johnson ’20 said. “Our hard work paid off and we made it to the championships. I think that was because of all of our work ethic.” 

This season, the team focused on creating a family atmosphere among the players.

“We are just one group of friends,” Johnson said.  “That is what has helped us become so successful in winning the CIF championship.”

For many players, the feeling of being part of Archer history is surreal.

“One of the best memories I have is the [championship] game and that final point,” Andrea Campos ’20 said. “Coming in together and hugging — in the moment it felt unreal and really exciting.”