Noki Lam
Sports Editor
Girls Volleyball faced Santa Monica in a Bay League matchup last Tuesday. The Mustangs swept the Vikings 3-0 in a dominant performance, winning 25-11, 25-6, and 25-20.
The team came into the match with an overall record of 16-1 and was ranked as the #1 team in the United States by Maxpreps monday. According to sophomore middle blocker Mia Miller, one of the team’s biggest challenges has been remaining uncomplacent after finding early-season success.
“I would say the hardest part is keeping our energy up and consistent in each match,” Miller said. “We didn’t treat this match any differently than the others, and we tried to keep our level of intensity up.”
The first set started off with a strong entrance from the Mustangs, as the team swiftly took a 25-11 win to set the tone of the match. Sophomore hitter Cayenne Ceman led the team with an efficient offensive performance of 13 kills on 19 attempts.
“Today, our biggest thing was staying consistent,” Ceman said. “I just made sure to be aggressive on the court when hitting.”
Another win came in the second set. The team was able to hold the Vikings under 10 points, taking the second set 25-6, whilst cycling through a roster of substitutions made up of 20 players.
“We just make sure to keep our hitters confident and swinging strong,” senior opposite hitter Chloe Hynes said. “It helps a lot that our setter, Charlie [Fuerbringer], keeps an awesome flow going with our offense.”
The Vikings stayed resilient despite major losses in the first two sets, keeping the game close until the end. Costa was able to come out on top in a battle, winning the set 25-20. According to senior opposite hitter Nora Williams, the team was able to win even without the momentum of the set by staying supportive as a team.
“We have trust to rely on each other when we get in down spurts,” Williams said. “Keeping our team culture and following our game plan is how we were able to get this win and others.”
The Mustangs prepare to enter one of the nation’s biggest tournaments today and Saturday in Las Vegas. According to Maxpreps, they go into the event as the main favorite to win the tournament and are likely to defend their #1 nationwide ranking.
“We’ve been preparing for our time in Vegas in lots of ways,” sophomore setter Milly McGee said. “Every practice leading up to it has been us going hard and pushing in practice and workouts everyday in anticipation of the tough competition we will see in Vegas.”
The team’s success has built on the successful season the team had last year, coming in 2nd in the playoffs of a competitive California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section division, and finishing in the top three of all teams in the state. According to Williams, the team is able to excel largely because of the players’ relationships with each other off the court.
“Our friendship outside of volleyball impacts our play on the court for the better,” Williams said. “Volleyball is the best when you love and trust the people you are playing with.”
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