In a highly anticipated match, the University High School Trojans Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team faced off against the Woodbridge High School (WHS) Warriors on Thursday, Sept. 26. Despite the Trojans’ energetic efforts, they were defeated in all three of their sets, marking another tough loss for their season.
The Trojans, who came into the game with a 1-3 record this season, started strong, taking the first point in the first set with the backing of an energetic crowd. They continued to keep up the vital energy throughout the first half of the set. However, the aggressive serves that the Warriors kept delivering quickly swung the momentum in their favor and secured them a victory in the first set, with the final score being 25-18.
“They’re scrappy and play with confidence,” sophomore libero Ava Dreben said. “Next time, we’ll work on improving our block and defense coverage.”
The second set saw the Trojans attempting to fight back, trading points with Woodbridge in a close contest before University surged to a 14-0 lead. Despite that, the Warriors’ resilience paid off, as they won point after point to win the set, scoring 25 points to the Trojans’ 23. This ultimately gave them control over the match. Regardless, the student section watching the game did not lose spirit, with the frosh/soph and junior varsity volleyball players chanting “side out” in unison.
“Some lessons we will carry on is keeping [our] energy up and [keeping] the pressure on the other side,” varsity Captain Corinne Van Haeren said. “A lot of the time we were up with Woodbridge until the last five points, where we would lose momentum.”
In the final set, the Trojans struggled to keep pace with the seemingly unstoppable Warriors, falling behind early with a score of 7-14. A spectacular rally brought University High up to 9-14 and showcased the countless hours of training the Trojans had put in to prepare for this match.
“Even though we were down, we kept fighting and going for the ball,” Dreben said. “It showed our perseverance and motivation, although it was hard to keep our cool, and we were tired.”
Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Warriors never let up their guard. They ultimately closed the match by winning the set with a final score of 25-18 and a final set score of 3-0 Warriors.
“We did a really good job having energy and getting hyped up,” Van Haeren said. “But I do unfortunately think there was a little bit of confusion on the court which ultimately led to us losing.”
Despite the loss, the Trojans remained optimistic. They used the lessons they learned to improve their skills and increase camaraderie. The Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team will look to reach its goals next season and keep building team spirit.
