By Ophir Cohen-Simayof

Originally published on November 13, 2014

On October 24th, the Lowell junior varsity girls’ volleyball team beat the Washington Eagles at the Battle of the Birds by 25–13 and 25–14.

The Cardinals started out strong and enthusiastic, moving through each rotation with fluidity. Like other league games, the Cardinals beat their opponents, as the first set was won within 20 minutes, and the second within 25.

Before the first ball was even served, the girls felt they were going to be victorious without being overconfident. “We walked onto the court and I saw that the Eagles would be good competition,” sophomore co-captain and defense specialist Julia Baran said. “They were good, especially compared to others in the league, but we still beat them.”

“If we stay disciplined, then we know that we can beat pretty much anyone in the league.”

The girls kept up their energy throughout the game, projecting confidence. This is a huge part of their intimidation factor, where the girls stay loud and energized to show the other team who is the ‘boss.’ “You have to cheer a lot in the beginning and go out their being loud,” sophomore co-captain outside hitter Emily Yee said. “Because, when you shy away, the other team gets a chance to regain their confidence.”

Throughout the game, the team had a strong defensive base. The key is to keep the girls disciplined in their positions, according to new Frosh-Soph coach Josh Jung. By doing so, the entire court is covered, so that no ball should ever touch the ground. Sophomore middle front hitter Naomi Miner managed to block a total of seven balls in both rounds simply by staying at her base. “If we stay disciplined, then we know that we can beat pretty much anyone in the league,” Jung said.

With freshman setters Jane Selar and Erica Zee leading the team, serves constantly flew over the net. The serves were a strong factor that allowed the girls to win the game, according to Jung.

Offensively, freshman outside left front hitter Ciara Kosai lead the team, hitting two aces in a row in one rotation. Yee and Baran also made major contributions, both hitting a total of four to five kills per set. However, volleyball is a collaborative sport, and no kills or hits would have been made if a teammate was not there to pass the ball. “I do not like individually picking girls out, because volleyball is a team sport and you can not win without every single girl,” Jung said.

“I do not like individually picking girls out, because volleyball is a team sport and you can not win without every single girl.”

Reflecting on the game, the team could use more motivation to push themselves to try their hardest, especially when in the lead, according to Jung.

To solve this, the girls try to win games more diligently. “It is easy to slack off when we are winning by a big amount,” Yee said. “But at the same time, you want to have a good and true win, so you need to try your hardest the entire time.”

One way the team works on motivation is through scrimmages, where the girls split up and play an actual game against each other, bringing out a better, more aggressive way to practice the game. “I think when we scrimmage each other it brings out this competitive edge,” Baran said. “When we do that, we play as a team. It brings out the best of us.”

Catch the Cardinals’ in their championship game on Friday, November 14 at Kezar at 5:30 PM.