On Aug. 31, the UHS Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team had an exciting game against the Crean Lutheran Saints, though it ended in a close loss of 21-25.

From the start, the Trojans were just a few points behind the Saints, which set the tone for the whole game. Throughout all quarters, UHS was right behind the Saints, trying to keep up. By the third round, UHS rallied past the Saints, reversing the game to 5-3 in their favor. By the end of the game, however, the Trojans were not able to keep their lead and fell to the Saints.

Varsity player Claire Lynch gave her input on the team’s loss. 

“We were definitely excited and some girls were playing their hardest, [but] we need more intensity as a team,” Lynch said. 

By the end of the second quarter, the score was 14-25 in favor of the Saints, but the Trojans started making a comeback as the next quarter began.

“[Crean was] really good at being consistent and making wise hitting choices,” senior captain Katrina Soto said. “UNI was probably better in regards to defense and serves.”  

Throughout the game, the Saints were very lively and competitive, showing much aggressiveness as well. Lynch suggested the need for more aggressiveness from UHS’ own team. 

“[UHS players] could care less about the loss itself than our increased drive to get better and succeed,” Lynch said. 

Despite Crean winning in the first half of the game, UHS came from behind and was up 5-3 when the third quarter ended. At this point, the game turned into a great winning streak for the Trojans.

“We had a great comeback,” varsity player Rosha Broomand said. “One thing I am proud of us [for] was our consistent serving. The team as a whole focused on the ball and that’s a big task.”  

While the UHS team did great in serving; the liberos or back row defense players made passes that went far over the net and into hard-to-reach spots, the Crean players were gaining during the third and final quarter, with high-jumping blockers stopping many hits over the nets. Ultimately, this quarter resulted in a close loss of 25-21. 

Even though the result of the game did not go as the team had hoped, the team remained optimistic about their future matches. 

“I think [we] took away the fact that we work better as a team,” senior captain Scarlett Purser said. “At the beginning of the game, we were very passive and hesitant, but as the game went on . . . we became more comfortable teammates.”

Purser went on to say that all teammates need to lift each other up and give constructive criticism and support in order to bring the team together. 

While this was an unfortunate loss for UHS girls volleyball, the team itself took away a determined perspective and was very excited to improve for the next game.

“I think that Crean Lutheran was definitely beatable, and it’s just all about connecting now and making smart yet strong decisions,” Soto said.

The team remains positive even through the tough loss, working hard for their next varsity game and future wins. They will focus on their team and their plays for the next game.