Volleyball season begins with uncertainty

As the school year begins to gain momentum, so do Saratoga’s many successful sports teams. Last year, the girls’ volleyball team placed second in their league, almost making the CCS playoffs. The team strives to be league champions this season and build upon last year's success.

This year, the team will once again compete in the El Camino league and have another chance at facing Cupertino High School, which defeated them in the match before CCS.

Despite losing two of the team’s middle hitters — generally the most effective offensive players on the team—the team hopes to fill this void with potential new talents from the Junior Varsity team.

Long-time coach Brad Fredricson said that the new players have strong potential but also face challenges.

“A couple of [the new players] are athletic but [volleyball] is a skill game, and you have to learn those skills before you can really get better,” Fredricson said. “It’s just about how fast we can develop a couple of the younger players so they can step in for some of the ones we lost.”

A few veteran players have also agreed that this year might be their chance at a championship if they can get some support from new incoming players.

To accomplish this goal, the team would have to surpass their previous record of 18-16 in the league and outcompete any teams vying for the same goal.

“This year, we have a good shot at beating Cupertino and going to CCS as the league champion,” Fredricson said.