The girls’ volleyball team faced Gaithersburg on Oct. 10 away and won big. Despite starting out slow, the team finished strong and cruised to an easy victory.
The team won three sets to none. The game started out tight with the girls winning the first set 25-19. The scores of the second and third sets were won by a much larger margin of 25-10.
“We started out kind of slow in the first set. We got away with some mistakes but near the end of the set we picked up our play and I feel like that positive momentum really helped us win those next two sets pretty easily. We played with a lot of confidence the last two sets and I think that really helped us,” junior Ava Azizi said.
With this most recent win, the team improves to 9-1, with their only loss being a close one to Churchill. While the team has been strong this year, this win may have been their best, “I’ve been to a couple of their games but this win was probably their most impressive. They played as a team and just flat out dominated. It was really impressive, so I’m glad I went,” junior Myah Owens said.
The team has high hopes for themselves. They hope to go deep in the county and state playoffs. They believe in themselves and know that they can do it as long as they stay focused.
“Our coach was really happy with how we played. She recognized that we started out sort of slow but really picked up the intensity about half way through the first set. She’s happy with how we’re improving day by day. Right now she really wants us to take it game by game but she feels like if we keep trending in an upward direction, the sky’s the limit for us,” Azizi said.
The team received outstanding play from junior setter Fatima Bouzid, who successfully scored 16 points in a row off of the serve. Junior right hitter/outside hitter Eleni Panagopoulos also played well for the team, contributing several points.
The highlight of the game was when the team had possession of the serve and went on an immaculate 16-0 run. “It was really amazing to watch them have 16 successful serves in a row. It was one of the most impressive athletic accomplishments I have ever seen,” junior Rachel Berman said.
The team was treating this like a very important game, like a dress rehearsal for some of their tougher opponents. This seems to be a mindset that is working, given the team’s results.
As the team looks into the future, their next game comes against an intimidating opponent: reigning state champions Northwest. “Northwest is a really good team so we really need to prepare and be focused for that game. The key to this game will definitely be who makes fewer mistakes, that team will most likely win the game.” junior Emma Abid said.

Sam Greene

Sports Editor