With three sprained ankles, a shoulder injury, players taking sick leaves and sophomore Jamie Johnson not allowed to play for the first half of the season due to CIF transfer rules, the volleyball team has had its fair share of setbacks. Sitting at a 6-9 record, the team won five out of their seven first games but faced tougher opponents including Menlo-Atherton High School and Valley Christian High School in the second half of their preseason.
The Knights expect to get most of their roster back, including starters junior Lily Hinshaw and freshman Alex Fair, both of whom were injured soon. “It’s going to be really neat when all the pieces fall into place and we expect that’s going to happen really soon,” head coach Tony Holland said.
Hinshaw applauds her teammates for stepping into bigger roles this season, whether that be to fill the spots of the five class of 2024 players who graduated or the four injured players. “We’ve had a girl come up from JV and we’ve also had people switch around in positions,” Hinshaw said.
A few players have continued their success from previous seasons. Senior Lily Kautai leads the team with 25 aces and 14 blocks, senior Bryn Dombkowski with 96 kills and junior Ava Wang with 187 digs. Looking ahead, both Hinshaw and Holland iterate the importance of improving their consistency, whether that be with serving, passing or getting a kill and winning the point.
Even though the Knights have only won one set total in all their losses, Holland believes the team fought hard against those tougher opponents. “I like the way we’ve competed against them,” Holland said. “Obviously the scoreboard hasn’t gone in our favor but the way we compete is good, so that’s gonna help us as we move into the regular season and playoffs.”