It’s a new season for this school’s fall sports, which means a fresh start for both the varsity and JV girls’ volleyball teams. The JV team ended their season with a 11-2 record and varsity ended their regular season with a 12-3 record. Playoffs for varsity were intense, but their outstanding performance led them all the way to the state championship finals where they lost 3-0 against North Hagerstown High School. This year, they plan to pick up right where they left off in hopes of returning to that championship court.
The coach of varsity is Mary Milinaushas and JV is coached by her son, Tony Milinaushas. The varsity team has 17 players – seven seniors, eight juniors, only two sophomores – and is led by senior captains Sofia Sossa and Taryn Su. Su has been a large part of the team since her freshman year and is the starting setter. This is Sossa’s third year on varsity, and this season, she is taking on a new position as libero, something she’s never done before on her club team or for this school. Both of the captains have been showing up strong for their teammates, and have ambitious goals for the season. “Our team has multiple goals but the main one is to not only make it back to the state championship, but win it [also]. We have also been focusing on communication effectively on and off the court,” Sossa said.
Both JV and varsity worked hard during the pre-season to create a strong foundation after building a new team. Before the season began, varsity scrimmaged The Academy of Holy Cross, Northwest and Clarksburg. “Being a captain for this team is a privilege, but also there is some pressure to keep the legacy of [this school’s] volleyball going. I push my teammates to become better [and] they do the same for me,” Sossa said.
The varsity season began with a 3-0 clean sheet home-opener win against Damascus on Sept. 5. JV all won their game 2-1, starting the season off strong for both teams. Their next games, however, were not as fortunate. Both teams lost to Urbana, varsity’s score ending at 3-1 and JV’s 2-1. Both teams are still optimistic about the season, “My goal this season is for our team to keep improving so we can win states,” Su said.
JV and varsity had one more game last week on Sept. 11 where both teams won. They have 12 more for the rest of the regular seasons, seven away and five at home. It’s early in the season, which means equal parts of anxiety and excitement are high, but they plan on finishing this year off strong. “The pace of practice is a lot different from JV and I am going to work on being versatile,” sophomore varsity player Zenia Shaikh said.
The teams still have a long way to go before playoffs, but they are both hopeful that they will make history this year. Both JV and varsity are composed of talented players that work hard every day to get better for their teammates. It is going to be a challenging season for the team to accomplish their grand aspirations, but one that they plan on making fun despite the hard work. Both teams have their next game away against Whitman tonight. “I plan to make sure everyone is pushing each other during practice, having strong communication, and keeping our team motivated throughout the whole season,” Su said.
