Friday night gym lights are back on and the girls varsity volleyball team started out with a bang. They won all three sets with astounding scores of 25-15, 25-14, and 25-9. The nerves were in the air, but the team kept it cool and collected.

“I think we started off a little nervous but as the game went on, we got more comfortable and started playing better,” Junior Kylie Yen, said. 

As it being the first game, Viking fans really showed up for the team and brought the much needed energy for the win.

“It was great to have so many fans there. There were definitely more student fans there than I expected considering it was the first game of the season and it was really great to have the support!” Evie Kramer (‘23) said. 

Coach Chris Crader is back and continues to support the girls both on and off the court.

“I’ve had Chris, our head coach, for all four years on varsity and he’s always had the same attitude towards our first game of the season, he’s calm and he’s collected so it puts less pressure on us as players, especially the ones that are new to varsity,” Jess Watanabe (‘23) said.

Many players felt Coach Chris really helped bring up everyone on the team. 

“Our coach as well was very confident in us going into the game. And when we started getting big leads he would sub in everyone so everyone got to play in the game. He makes sure to give feedback but he does it in a way where you can tell he’s trying to improve the team and not to make you feel bad,” Reine Schultz (‘24) said. 

As their season continues, they hope to only go up from here and strengthen their bonds as a team.

“I think overall there’s a lot of things that we have to work on and can improve, our team chemistry wasn’t bad for our first game, but there’s always lots of room for improvement and hopefully once the season progresses we get more comfortable with each other!” Watanabe said.