By Jonah Rosenbaum
The girlsâ volleyball team opens up its season with a rematch against the team that sent it home last year, Lakewood High School.
The team had a scrimmage yesterday against Thousand Oaks, and will begin their regular season tomorrow against Lakewood.
“We worked really hard last year, and we definitely improved as a team. That made the playoff loss all the more disappointing,” Head Coach Adam Black said.
The team should benefit from an early start to practice this summer.
“The girls worked really hard this whole summer, every single one of them, and the improvement is evident. It was really great to see, especially considering how early we started,” Black said.
He also noted that the team gained valuable experience from all of the summer tournaments in which the team participated.
“We played against some outstanding competition, and the girls got to play a lot of competitive volleyball this summer. Itâs always an advantage to play against really good teams in a setting where you can make mistakes that wonât count against you,” Black said.
Although Black is not ready to make any predictions, he says he expects a lot out of the team.
“The goal is to win. To be successful and do as well as we can, to go into every single game in a position to win. With this team, we should be able to do that,” Black said.
He also said that much of the teamâs hopes ride on the shoulders of outside hitter and UCLA commit Meg Norton â10.
“Meg is going to play a big role, as in the past. Obviously she needs to keep performing the way she has, but assuming she does, she is our go-to player,” Black said.
Returning Varsity player Kellie Barnum â11 agrees with Blackâs assessment, but has a more specific outlook for the team.
“We have a lot of seniors who are getting ready for their final season. We worked really hard this off-season to get where we need to be, and all the time we put in is going to pay off. We want the seniors to leave with rings on their fingers,” Barnum said.
