Girls’ volleyball: Time running out for seniors

With the completion of Senior Night on Nov. 3, the Falcons’ four senior volleyball players are counting their days as members of the Falcon squad.
“It’s really sad because I know I’ll never play volleyball here again,” said senior co-captain and outside hitter Nicole Gragnola. “But we do have club volleyball and CCS, so it’s not like we won’t be playing anymore.

The seniors (Gragnola, Aylsia Patel, Emily Baba and Chelsea Sabella) have gone to CCS every year since freshmen year, and this year will be no different.

“We’re definitely going to CCS this year; we got second in our St. Francis tournament and we’re doing pretty well in league,” said Patel.

In their four years, one of the most memorable moments for the seniors has been their match this season against Archbishop Mitty, the No. 1 team in the nation, during the Milpitas Spikefest Tournament on Sept. 5. Although they lost in two games, the girls almost pushed the Monarchs to three.

“It was the best our team has ever played; it was 25-23 during the second game,” said Gragnola. “They’re amazing; seven out of their nine seniors are already committed to Division 1 teams. It was really exciting to compete with them and know that we could play at that level.”

Aside from gaining experience throughout their four years, the seniors have learned that volleyball isn’t about individual playing.

“One person can’t win a game for you, you need everyone,” said Gragnola. “The only way to be successful is if the team works together.”

Because most of them have been playing together since middle school, the girls know this well.

“We’ve all been playing together for a really long time, and we’ve really learned how to play as a team,” said senior co-captain and outside hitter Chelsea Sabella. “I’m really sad [about the end of the season], but I’m excited for senior night.”

At this point, Gragnola and Patel are not positive if they will be playing volleyball in college. Gragnola is waiting until club season to figure out recruitment, and Patel is waiting to see which college she is accepted into.

Sabella does not think she will be playing college in the future, but on the other hand, senior libero Emily Baba would like to continue her career.
“I’m going to try out for club, but if I don’t make it then I’ll do intramural,” said Baba.

The Falcons won against Gunn on Oct. 27 in three games but lost a close match which went to five games against Los Gatos on Oct. 22.

“Even though we didn’t win our Los Gatos game, we played really well,” said Baba.

The Falcons played their senior night game against Mountain View on Nov. 3 and their final league game at Palo Alto on Nov. 5, but due to printing deadlines, the results could not be printed. CCS is scheduled to begin later this month.