Pass! Set! Hit! Coached by Jill Kautz, this year’s IHS Girls Volleyball team consisted of twelve girls—five seniors, five juniors, and two sophomores. This group of girls has been playing together for almost three years now, from participation in clubs to past school seasons, and the energy within this team has been extremely strong. However, this year, the volleyball season ended off with a 2-12 record. This final record is quite deceptive, not giving a good impression of the true passion and interconnectedness of the team.
Each and every game in the season went down to the wire. Part of the reason why the record is so upsetting is that any of the close matches could have turned Ithaca’s way, but it seemed that in every game where Ithaca was close to winning, luck just did not come their way. For example, during the match against Union-Endicott on September 12, Ithaca had won the first two games. The team thought they had the match in their hands, as they only needed to win one more game to win the entire match. However, they ended up taking a loss, stemming from a sense of overconfidence that resulted in a lack of effort. Similarly, in the game against Vestal on October 5, the teams were tied and the score was 24-24 in the fifth game. The match had originally begun with Vestal in the lead with two wins, but Ithaca caught up and won the following two matches, resulting in a fifth game. Unfortunately, the team did not leave the court victorious. What the score doesn’t reflect is that the girls worked extremely hard on the court, fighting to save every ball and ace every serve.
The team’s energy level on the court has always remained high. Their coach’s motto is “Always smile!” Taking these words into account, whenever a team member is down or nervous on the court, it is quite common to see another flash a smile. After all, it’s about playing the sport you love and having fun, not just about gaining points and winning the title. For this reason, the team has never ceased to emit positive energy and to comfort others on the court with a friendly chuckle and a pat on the back.
The 2-12 record mislabels a tenacious but unlucky team as incapable. Nevertheless, the girls had a great season. With captains Myah Frostclapp ’18, Demi Nestopoulos ’18, and Maria Vieira ’19, the team had a lot of fun playing together over the course of the last few months, and will look to the future instead of dwelling on the past.