Volleyball and field hockey both finished their seasons with championships, driven by team chemistry and months of hard work on and off the field.

The Harvard-Westlake girls varsity volleyball and field hockey teams both claimed championships this season, marking their hard work, team chemistry and commitment to each other on and off the field. The volleyball team won the Division I state championship, and the field hockey team claimed the Sunset League championship. Both teams were honored at a Community Time assembly, where players received championship rings.

Libero Mattea Pisani ’27 said the achievement had been a long time coming.

“This season was a season of growth for us,” Pisani said. “We overcame a lot of challenges and adversity as a team and were able to come out better because of it. It was obviously such a bittersweet moment thinking about the seniors and seeing their faces.”

Middle blocker Ruby Sampson ’27 said the win was a surreal moment. 

“The moment I realized we had won was when we went to dinner as a team right after, joined by our coaches and all of our families,” Sampson said. “We were all wearing our medals and we finally had a moment to reflect on what we had just accomplished. It was some of the most fun I had had with the team all year, just reminiscing about the season as a whole.”

Sampson said the championship felt especially meaningful given how much hard work the team put in to build towards it.

“The program had had some pretty rough years in the prior seasons, and having the new coaching change was a little scary,” Sampson said. “The work put in every season felt like it was always working towards this goal, and it was just amazing to watch us all achieve it.” 

Pisani said the team’s strong bond was especially impactful to their victory.

“I truly think that we played for each other,” she said. “There was and will always be so much love between the 18 of us.”

Field hockey midfielder Margaux Schlumberger ’27 said winning the championship came down to the people around her.

“We had a great group of girls who had really good team chemistry,” Schlumberger said. “It was so fun getting to hang out with some of my best friends on and off the field.”

Schlumberger said she appreciated the opportunity to compete at a high level through the school’s program.

“I’m very grateful that I had the chance to start the sport on the later side and still participate at such a high level,” Schlumberger said.