The varsity girls’ volleyball team faced tough opposition this season but managed to finish with a league record of 7-5, and an overall record of 10-16.

Cupertino proved to be an especially tough foe, defeating the Falcons twice during the season. However, junior middle blocker Ramya Swami admits that the team sometimes lost matches even though victory was well within their reach.

“I’m not really sure why we lost [to Lynbrook],” Swami said. “Sometimes you get those days when you’re not playing as well as you can.”

As the long season progressed, many players faced injury, Swami said.

“Our setter, [sophomore] Katelyn Mollahan, was out for a week because she dislocated her thumb,” Swami said. “She couldn’t play, so that was difficult because the setter is one of the main positions on the court. Without her the game gets tough.”

Junior Adriana Ivanko, who played opposite hitter and back row, suffered from a broken hand for most of the season, and Swami found herself with a lumbar sprain in her back near the season’s end. On top of this, players frequently missed games due to illness.

In spite of these setbacks, the Falcons saw substantial improvements in both individual technique and overall teamwork.

“Some of our players improved a lot technically, and we improved a lot as a team,” Swami said.
Sophomore teammate Tivoli Sisco, who played outside hitter and back row, said she was impressed by the improvement in team dynamics.

“I think the team has improved the most in our togetherness,” Sisco said. “We got better together and we bonded together.”

Senior outside hitter Talia Sisco led the team with a grand total of 211 kills and 33 aces by the end of the season. Swami contributed immensely to the team’s defense with a total of 22 blocks.

According to Swami, the team reached a turning point after its second game against Cupertino.

“Everything started changing after the second time we played Cupertino. That was when we found out how well we could actually play, and it was like whoa, we’re actually kind of good at this,” Swami said.

Looking forward, Swami hopes that the team will be able to focus more on improving its actual game next year. According to Swami, the team will probably stay more or less the same and will not need to spend as much time in getting to know each other.

“I have really high hopes for next season,” Swami said. “I think it will be really fun and I think we’ve found the way where we can work together as a team and now we just need to figure out how we can beat everyone else.”