The girls’ volleyball team is off to a slow start after beginning its season with a record of 5-5. The program has had to adjust to the loss of many crucial players from last season, including senior captains Eve Baxter ’19 and Lindsey Kelly ’19, as well as several underclassmen, opposite Eva Lekovic ’21 said.
“It has been a big adjustment to lose so many players, but we have been practicing hard,” Lekovic said. “Each practice, we have been looking better. We are a really young team, so we are going to improve as the season progresses.”
The squad traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii on Aug. 8 for its annual Ann Kang Invitational tournament to kick off the season. Opposite and captain Carly Wallace ‘20 said the trip was a bonding experience for the team and that it gave the new players a chance to build team chemistry.
“Since we have a lot of new players, it was an amazing opportunity to not only work with each other and grow as a team on the court, but to also spend quality bonding time together,” Wallace said. “This team has always had incredible team chemistry, and I expect that to be the case this year as well.”
The Wolverines began the tournament with a 3-0 record, beating Mililani High School, Lolani High School and Santa Margarita High School. Despite its undefeated start, the squad fell to 3-4 overall after losing four consecutive games and was forced to make adjustments.
The squad defeated Pearl City High School in its last game of the Hawaiian tournament on Aug. 10. Following the Wolverines’ return to Los Angeles, they competed in the Lakewood Tournament on Aug. 17 where they beat South El Monte High School but lost to Burroughs High School. The results of the game against Long Beach Polytechnic High School Tuesday were unavailable due to press time.
The team begins league play Sept. 9 against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. Wallace said the game will give the players a chance to boost their confidence.
“It’s still early on, so it’s hard to predict the season, but I expect us to be very competitive in league this year,” Wallace said. “We did lose some players, and of course, we miss having them on the team. We had six seniors graduate, including our starting setter, but we now have two really good freshman setters who I look forward to playing with. Overall, we are an underclassman-heavy team which has not been the case in the past, so I’m very excited to see how we progress this season and for the future of the program.”
The Wolverines are scheduled to play Oakwood High School on Thursday.
