Corona del Mar High School’s Girls Junior Varsity and Varsity volleyball team competed against Huntington Beach High School last Thursday in their first league game of the year. The Junior Varsity game was first and suspense hung thick in the air. Both the heat spilling in through the open doors of the gymnasium and the anticipation of the game caused the crowd to stir. The team was “feeling great, hyped, and pumped” as described by Kristy Riddle, a junior. As the crowd continued to fill in, vigorous music started blaring and its volume could be felt throughout one’s ribs. This was the signal for both teams to start practicing. The crowd was buzzing with excitement, despite the drowsiness the sultry weather-induced.

CdM had a strong start, but unfortunately couldn’t defer Huntington Beach’s team for long. The scores for the first set were 16-25, in favor of Huntington Beach. However, that didn’t stop the players’ teammates from cheering their support during the second set. The next scores weren’t far from the first though, landing at a similar 15-25. The Junior Varsity team didn’t let this bring them down on the inside, but rather fueled them for their upcoming games. Matisse Robertson is 15, and the only freshman to make it onto JV. She said the team “could’ve done a lot better” but that they just “weren’t there mentally”. She did end on a more positive note, saying that she’s “very excited to be on the team” and is “hoping for a good season”.

After a short break, the Varsity team was ready to take on Huntington and whatever lay ahead. The loud music that had played in between games faded away and the silence that followed hung heavy in the air. The first set was closer than that of Junior Varsity, but Huntington still took the victory with the scores being 19-25. The second set was 17-25, causing both the team’s and the crowd’s hopes to dwindle slightly. The JV team supported their fellow athletes from the sidelines, hoping that the Varsity team would persevere. The third set would determine if CdM lost or if they were still in the game, and tension blanketed the gymnasium.

The third set began and the tension was quickly replaced by the crowd’s cheers for both CdM and Huntington. Would this be the end of the event or would CdM give it their all and take an unexpected victory? To the team’s dismay it was the former, with the last set’s scores being 19-25. When asked how she was feeling before and after the game, Paige Carillo–a junior on the Varsity team–said she was “feeling optimistic to start” but she thought that they didn’t play their best. Nevertheless, the CdMHS Girls Volleyball team has many experiences yet to come with the new season that will surely have the crowd on the edges of their seats once again.