The girls’ volleyball team has concluded its season, falling to Whitman in a 3-2 loss on Oct. 31.
The team ended their regular season play on a four-game winning streak, finishing with a 10-4 record.
The Cats swept Kennedy in a 3-0 win on Oct. 14, setting a fire within the team.
The team pushed ahead, looking to harness this momentum into another victory. The Cats followed through on this mission, taking down Clarksburg in a close 3-2 win. They didn’t slow down from there, speeding into another 3-0 sweep against Paint Branch.
Next on the calendar came a fast-approaching senior night, a monumental game that celebrates all the hard work and new beginnings of soon-to-be graduating seniors.
“It was emotional but also really exciting,” sophomore Allie O’Neill said. “Everyone wanted to play hard for the seniors and make it a night to remember.”
The Cats came out on top against Northwest on Oct. 23, with another 3-0 win, closing out their regular season play with another home win.
“The atmosphere during senior night was really bittersweet,” junior captain Emilia Zhang said. “I think that the four seniors that we have are gonna go off and do great things and they really cherished their time with WJ Volleyball. But, it was also very sad to see them go because I’ve spent most of my varsity seasons with them and they’ve been my mentors and best friends.”
Coming off a four-game winning streak, the Cats are looking onto the playoffs, hoping to keep their energy high and make good choices on the court.
“The goal is to stay calm under pressure and do what we’ve practiced all season,” O’Neill said.
In the 4A West II region, the team stood solid in third place, with a 2-3 regional record. This left them without a bye and forced them to play the sixth-place team, Gaithersburg, in the first round of playoffs. The Cats hadn’t faced the Trojans in this year’s regular season play, so the team had to rely heavily on its set plays to prepare for the match.
“This game means a lot because it can set the tone for playoffs,” O’Neill said. “It’s a big chance to see how much we’ve improved and how hard we’ve worked.”
The Cats defeated Gaithersburg in a 3-0 sweep, setting themselves up to face Whitman in the Regional Semifinals.
“We came into the fifth set with really high energy,” junior Nicole Chang said.
After winning the fourth set, the Cats went down almost immediately 1-11. While many teams would have been shaken up by such a disadvantage, the Cats stood their ground.
“Our team practiced a lot on building and getting out of a hole, so we played really composed and brought it back 14-14,” Chang said.
While the team came so close to victory, they ultimately lost on a serve that hit the tape down.
“It was bittersweet, but I feel like we were very proud of how we played,” Chang said.
Though their season is over, the Cats are still so proud of themselves for the progress and connections that they’ve made as a collective unit.
“Towards the beginning of the season, we didn’t have that team dynamic,” Zhang said. “This team really improved on bonding with one another and being able to adjust to any circumstances together.”
