Faith Soriano ‘22, an outside hitter on the junior varsity volleyball team, ran to pass the ball at an Oct. 3 game. Suddenly, she forgot she was playing front row and sprinted back to the position only for the volleyball to hit her in the face. 

“It was crazy, and it was so embarrassing because a lot of people were there and a bunch of coaches saw me get hit in the face,” she said. “But we won, so it was all good.”

The junior varsity volleyball team got off to a slow start due to the fact that the first couple of games started when Arrow Week and Fall Outing occurred. Aside from the first two games and a game played at Oakwood School on Oct. 16, the last game before the season ended, they had a winning streak. 

“We were a little bit behind other teams when we first started, but then when we caught up experience-wise, we have been playing really well,” Coach Kaylee Smith said during the season. 

This year, the team had six new players, but as the season progressed, they got stronger.

“We lost in the beginning, but we’ve been getting better as a team and improving a lot and learning how each other play,” co-captain Mikayla Weinhouse ‘22 said during the season. 

Co-captain Ali Aragon ‘22 believes part of the reason they improved as a team is due to the fact that they had bonding events such as a team sleepover. 

“We kind of split up into teams [and did a scavenger hunt], team building games and swimming,” Aragon said. “Also, during practice, we’ve been trying to talk to each other more and just create a positive dynamic between all of the grades.” 

Team bonding did not just happen out of practice. During normal practice, JV volleyball did drills, passing and scrimmages.

“The team is very focused on being competitive,” Smith said. “I think they enjoy everything that is happening and are excited to be better.”