Games of down by the banks, carefully crafted speeches for graduating team members, and bittersweet tears characterized the girls varsity volleyball team’s senior night on Oct. 21. The Mavericks ended up winning 3-0 against Pacific Bay Christian High School, but their main highlight was their collaboration. The night culminated with heartfelt appreciation speeches for their seniors.
“I was sobbing,” said co-captain Sakura T. ’26. “Everyone poured their hearts into the speeches. It was really sweet. It’s definitely sad to leave the team, I’ve just been with them for so long.”
Due to a delay from the referee during the second set, the team had a free eight minutes with one point left in the set, which they used to play down by the banks and talk.
“It was a really heartwarming moment,” Langley V. ’28 said.
Their senior night embodied the season’s growth and bonding. Through the past few months, they’ve learned to celebrate their bonding—taking a collective deep breath before a match, trying out new positions and plays, and, most importantly, enjoying the game.
“We had the most fun this season as a team. In past years, there’s been small groups within the team, but this year we were able to all be close with each other,” Sakura said.
Langley further emphasized their chemistry and the support the team has built among themselves.
“People really lift each other up and make sure everybody knows they’re supported and show them through actions,” Langley said. “Last year we clicked as a team a little later in the season. This year, pretty early on, we got along really well and we had a good dynamic off the court.”
Kelly Z. ’27 echoed that sentiment, highlighting their team’s growth.
“Everyone’s always pushing each other to get better,” Kelly said. “Surrounded by all these amazing players, I want to be on their level and be able to play super well with them. I think that’s driven a lot of growth as a team.”
With three new freshmen, the team’s defense has strengthened, which has stabilized the team as a whole. Players have also stepped up into positions they hadn’t traditionally played to help the team where they are needed, improving skill as a whole. To cap off their growth, Coach Harley Marques Silva has emphasized trying out new combination plays—offensive tactics requiring quick movements and decoy actions—which encourage players to add nuance to their strategies and plays in-game.
As part of testing these new plays, the team introduced “secret” terms to signal different combos they’ve practiced—for example, a “cookie” is a play where a player in the middle switches with someone in an outside position to hit the ball, a “pipe” is when the defense specialist hits from the middle-back, and a “brownie” is when the middle blocker goes behind the setter for a quick shot, while the right side goes in front of a setter to hit a different quick shot.
These new strategies have paid off—for the first time in six years, the varsity team won a set against Summit Shasta, who’s ranked first in the Division 5 Central Coast Section (CCS).
“I think we did the best that we’ve done in the four years we’ve played,” said Sakura, who’s played for the varsity team since freshman year.
Their coach has also pushed them to focus on morale and expanding their mindset. Even when playing against teams they have historically lost to, such as Shasta, he reminds them not to expect another loss, but to put up their best fight.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a game. Win or lose, we’re going to try hard,” Sakura said.
That spirit—prioritizing effort over outcomes—has carried the team throughout their season, shaping both their play and who they are as a team.
“Volleyball was my second family. I’m going to miss having that,” Sakura said. “But I’ll definitely come back to watch the games.”
