Girls’ volleyball: Falcons hope to soar in less competitive league

Head Coach: Brad Fredrickson

2015-2016 record: 12-19

2015-2016 recap: The team lost in the quarterfinals of CCS to Notre Dame after finishing as the No. 8 overall seed in the De Anza League.

Key Additions: sophomore middle Audrey Adams, junior middle Jacqueline Schwartz, junior outside Hannah Fan

Key Matchups: Los Gatos, Gunn, Lynbrook

Star Players: senior libero Julia Vita, junior outside Riley Carter, junior setter Dasha Goussevva, junior middle Isabella Strawn

Key losses (graduated athletes): Amanda Meserve, Nicole Chiou, Jennifer Chen

League: Santa Clara Valley Athletics League, El Camino League

Prognosis: “Our coach is expecting us to hopefully win every game since we are in a lower league,” junior outside Riley Carter said.

The girls’ volleyball team hopes to capitalize on their move down from the De Anza League to the El Camino League this year by taking home the league championship. To get there and to fill gaps left by the 2016 alumni, the team will move up five players from JV.  

“The new five players are a fairly young group, but they’re all experienced in volleyball,” Vita said. “All the returning players are working together to be better teachers for them and help improve their skills overall so it will bring up our team’s level.”

Helping the younger players allows the team to bond more and improve their teamwork, which has grown tremendously over past years according to Vita. The girls also hope to develop their team chemistry through team bonding events such as sleepovers and karaoke nights.

“It’s great to have friends on the team and we get to grow closer together,” Carter said. “It’ll show on the court as we play better if we’re more comfortable knowing where we are on the court.”