Girls’ volleyball team overcomes rival Cupertino

As the matches continue, the girls’ volleyball team has only grown stronger and more accustomed to the younger players on the team.  As of Oct. 14, they remain undefeated in the El Camino league with a record of 5-0 despite preseason struggles.

The result has been one-sided competition against most of the schools they have played. However, the team anticipated a match against last year’s league champion Cupertino High School to be a tougher match.

“Cupertino is definitely one of the biggest matches of the year,” junior outside hitter Sara Parden said. “They’ve sort of become our rival in the last few years since they’re the one team we can’t beat.”

The team had not been able to come out on top over Cupertino since joining the El Camino league in 2010. But on the other hand, the team’s win to loss ratio has been steadily increasing each year since then.

“Last year just adds to the rivalry,” Parden said. “[The game] was so close and this year we want to redeem ourselves and win.”

This year, in the first match against Cupertino on Oct. 8, the teams played closely, but Saratoga was finally able to overcome Cupertino in four games.

In the match-ups against both Los Gatos and Notre Dame, the team faced lopsided defeats in the preseason, which initially dampened morale and enthusiasm for the season. But hard work, dedication and support from coach Brad Fredrickson pulled the players through to strengthen the confidence they had as a team.

“It's a really emotional sport,” senior outside hitter Julia Lee said. “It takes a lot out of you. But it's worth it. It's worth the frustration, tears and stress because it's something that we’re passionate about.”

The team’s strength is evident as it is the current leader in the El Camino league. 

“The next match against Cupertino will be on Oct. 29,” junior defensive specialist Catherine Tang. “And if we win that, then we should go undefeated for the rest of the season and make CCS easily.”