Sarah Dauber

Girls varsity volleyball won their second conference game on Sept. 12.

After a close loss against the St. Andrew Varsity girls volleyball team, the CESJDS girls varsity volleyball team went into their game against Model Secondary School for the Deaf on Sept. 12 with high hopes. The gym was full of fans from both sides before the game began, patiently watching as the players warmed up.

Although the Lions missed their first serve of the game, they quickly turned it around, with senior captain Neely Shemony hitting 10 successful serves in a row. The round game ended in a 25-7 victory for the Lions.

“I think that (in the first set) we had a very strong lead, and we just were in a groove, and we were just consistently scoring points,” Shemony said.

Many points scored within the game were met with eccentric hand motions and chants from the players and audience. Chants like “ace, ace baby” and “tick, tick—Boom” were shouted to indicate an “ace” and a “kill” respectively.

Before the game, junior captain Ellie Strisik recalls not having full confidence about a JDS victory. 

“I was nervous as Model had beaten us in the playoffs in the previous season,” Strisik said. 

After the first point of the second set went to Model, tides seemed like they might be turning in Model’s favor. The teams remained neck and neck throughout the second set. Hopping from 8-8, 15-15 and 17-17. Yet, after a successful series of plays by junior Rachel Fagin, the second set went to JDS with a score of 25-21.

The third set went to JDS in a similar fashion as the second, with the teams remaining close in points throughout the game and JDS eventually taking the lead and winning 25-19.

Strisik led the scoring in the third set with 16 points. She has been playing club volleyball since seventh grade and has enjoyed it ever since.

“A couple of times the game was neck and neck and tied, and we had to really focus and play as a team so that we could get back up and keep the serves,” Strisik said. “But I think that if we keep practicing [we’ll get there,] our coach has made a difference this season.”

In the end, JDS beat Model in a 3-0 blowout, winning all three of the sets played. This was the second win of the season, giving the Lions a 2-0 conference record.

This is the girls varsity volleyball coach, Juan Alcivar’s first year coaching for the Lions and he is excited for his future at JDS. Alcivar will also be coaching the boy’s varsity volleyball team this coming spring season.

“The community is very welcoming, the kids are amazing and everybody has bought into what I’m selling with the volleyball program,” Alcivar said. “I’m really excited to be here and be your coach.”

Overall the team was happy with their performance this game, but many still feel room to improve.

“I think that there’s a lot that we can work on in terms of communication and just upping our levels even more,” Shemony said. “I think that we made a lot of mistakes today in making sure who’s going to get the ball, you know, because we let it drop a lot of times, but it’s something that we’re working on, and I see us improving every time,”

This game was only the team’s third in the season and with a different roster from last year, they are still settling in.

“This is just our base, right now, I feel like we’re gonna just keep getting better,” Alcivar said.