The West High Girls Varsity Volleyball team played against Redondo High on Tuesday, October 11th. It was a painfully close game and unfortunately West did not take home the win. The score was close throughout the entire tournament, but Redondo held off our powerful girls.

According to Kaiana McDonald (11), who played ‘outside’ for three rotations, “our energy was good for the first half of the game, but it slipped a little towards the second half.” Her teammate Emily Nitao (11), the defensive specialist, added, “I think that our team is finally learning to play as one.” Energy on the court is important because it affects the way everyone on the team is playing. If one or two players are being negative it spreads like wildfire to the rest of the team.

The referees were a contributing factor to the outcome of the match. In this game McDonald claimed, “The referees were okay, they were not bad—but they were not the best.” Nitao added, “They were alright, they made pretty fair calls.” Jessica Enos (11) mentioned, “The referees did their job and made accurate calls.” If the referees favor a team they have the ability to be more lenient on them, or more difficult to the opposing one. This of course is not only morally wrong, but completely unfair. It is great that they made appropriate calls throughout the match.

The crowds intensity adds to the energetic feel of tournaments. The volleyball team does not get the most publicity, but they certainly draw in an energized group of supporters. McDonald stated, “The crowd was pretty good. There were a few signs and our junior varsity and freshmen teams were cheering pretty loud.” It really pumped and excited the athletes. Nitao mentioned, “The crowd this time was pretty fun.” Enos concluded, “They were definitely energetic the whole time.”

The volleyball team has games every week and the season is coming to an end. If you have not yet been to one, go out and support your Girls Varsity Volleyball team!