The girls’ volleyball team routed Watkins Mill 3-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 6 to win their first game of the season.

The first set was mostly controlled by the Wildcats, as they were up 17-9 midway through. This huge lead forced Watkins Mill to take their first timeout. The Cats kept in control late thanks in part to some nice serves by senior Maya Zutshi, winning the set 25-18.

“I think we played really well overall,” Zutshi said. “We were all cheering for each other, [both] people on the bench and people playing.”

The second set turned out to be a similar story, with WJ dominating 14-7 midway through the set. The Wildcats made a number of strong blocks, making it harder for Watkins Mill to score. The serving also played a huge part in the set. The Cats crushed the set 25-14 as they barged ahead, taking a 2-0 lead.

The third set turned out to be a much closer contest, and play included lots of back and forth competition. WJ was losing throughout most of it, down 21-18 late in the set. In the end, the Wildcats stole the final set 25-23 to win the game.

Head coach Jackie Krampf said the team’s serving propelled them to win their first game.

“I think we had several girls step up with their serving. It kept Watkins Mill out of system so they couldn’t run their offense well,” Krampf said.

Freshman Emilia Zhang got a couple of key spikes in her first game, and even had the bench chanting, “She’s a freshman” when she scored a point. She likes the team bonding, and enjoys being one of the youngest players as she learns from her older teammates.

“We’ve gotten really comfortable with each other, and improved our overall game,” Zhang said. “It’s really cool playing with all of the older kids, because they help me get better and they help me play better overall.”

Despite the win, the team knows they still have work to do to improve as a unit. In particular, they will try to work on their passing to set up more opportunities for their offensive attack.

“I think we need to work on our passing to run our offenses a little more effectively,” Krampf said. 

To be effective, the Cats will look to generate their passing from the get go. Their communication will be a vital part of that.

“For our next match we’re going to work on getting better passes to run our offense from the start. We did do that, but we only did that towards the end,” Zutshi said. 

The other factor in the game was the heat inside the gym. Both teams did the best they could in less than ideal playing conditions, but it did take a toll on the players.

“I thought the girls played spectacularly through a really tough evening with the humidity and the heat, so really proud of both teams,” Krampf said.

The team looks to keep the wins coming, as they head to Clarksburg on Monday the 11th for their first away game of the season.