Girls Varsity Volleyball

Petrona Callender’s first official serve of the season.

By Yanelle Figueroa, Staff Writer
December 20, 2022

With a record of 20-5, the girls varsity volleyball team had a successful season, making it to regionals back in November, where they lost to Cypress Bay 2-3.

Coach Nick Baumgarten believes that the team had a very successful season. “We won 20 matches. I don’t know if girls volleyball has ever done that before,” he said. He also points out how the team made the playoffs and how new team members worked hard to get better into the positions they’re in.

Khalia “Kai” Horta is a sophomore in varsity. She felt a lot of pressure being on the team. Kai said, “I just started playing two years ago, so I’m not amazing, but they put me as starting lineup and there’s so much pressure because my team depends on me to do good.” Khalia played libero this year having the estimated stats of 190 digs, 44 serving aces, and 192 receptions.

Petrona Callender is another sophomore in varsity, who played for JV (Junior Varsity) this year yet practiced with varsity every day the girls had. Suffering from the same struggles, Petrona said, “There’s a lot of pressure that comes with volleyball. Being on serve-receive can make you feel anxious, especially if you don’t have much experience or if you’re in your head too much.”

Stress is a big issue in sports especially when you join one and struggle to work with others. Petrona said, “My teammates had energy, they definitely put in effort… We just need to learn to work as a team.”

Kai added, “My teammates are probably the best thing in my life for a long time. They mean so much to me and have made such a positive impact on my life.”

Just like any other athlete, these girls had big moments during their season. “One big moment I had this year was when our coach put me as outsider hitter another is when I would have really good digs during games,” said Petrona.

Kai said, “A big moment for me this season is when coach put me as libero. It was such an amazing opportunity to be able to play such an important position for an incredibly talented team.”