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PRACTICE REALLY DOES make perfect, and the girls’ varsity volleyball know this lesson better than anyone else. And more practice time in the gym is exactly what the team needs to improve their game and extend their twelve-year AAA champion legacy.
Lack of gym time has been holding the girls back. Varsity volleyball starts practice at 3:30 and has to share the gym with JV volleyball or boys’ basketball. At 5:30, they have to leave the gym and hand it over to the girls’ basketball team. “We only get two hours after school to set up nets, do warm ups, and train offense and defense,” senior defense specialist Elaine Ngo said. “We need at least three hours but now we just don’t have enough time to go through everything.” According to senior center Katrina Lau, the girls cannot get through all their rotations during practice and have to warm up outside occasionally.
The crunch for gym time also adds pressure on the girls during practice. “We’re forced to be super focused but we’re used to being relaxed at practice,” Lau said.
The lack of practice time is keeping the team from improving and developing new techniques, which could hurt the team later on when they face strong opponents. “We should be running more plays but we don’t have time to try out new stuff so we have to stick with what we’ve been doing,” Lau said. Sometimes coach cannot explain things to us.”
Even though the girls still need more practice, they are dominate on the court. They defeated Washington during the Battle of the Birds on Oct. 21. Many Washington supporters showed up at Lowell to cheer on their team and distract the Cardinals, but the team’s performance left the Washington crowd speechless. “We had very good blocking,” senior outside hitter Kerry Ho said. “Wash had a very strong hitter but senior middle blocker Laura Napoliello and junior opposition Nicole Lee were able to block her throughout the game.” The team stepped it up during the third set when Lee smashed the ball two feet away from the net on an overpass, just short of the Washington Eagles’ reach. The girls kicked it up another notch at the end of the match. “Junior middle Allison Wasserman put it away amazingly,” Ho said. Varsity volleyball brought home another win, beating Washington 25-15, 25-14, and 25-23.
The girls know that beating some of the toughest competitors means nothing without a championship win. They are hoping to make it to the AAA championship game today at Kezar. A win in this game would mean another year added on to the girls’ varsity volleyball’s AAA championship streak, which has been going strong for the last twelve years. “It’s my senior year so it’d be awesome to bring home another victory,” Ngo said.
The playoff game on Nov. 12 was too late for press, but if the Cardinals make it to championships, then come out to cheer them on at 7 today at Kezar.
The varsity volleyball team has truly taken the game to a new level. Each and every team member has stepped up and given her all, but Katrina Lau, this year’s co-captain and center, has truly inspired the team, and is The Lowell’s pick as MVP. Lau’s leadership is truly felt throughout the team. “Without her, we wouldn’t be the same,” junior libero Jessica Peng said.
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