“We got the job done and that’s what matters,” said Anthony Chen, head coach of the girls varsity volleyball team.

“We didn’t play as well as we could have,” senior Becky Slattery admitted. “We had no energy, nobody was talking and balls dropped.” This was a statement obvious on the faces of the team after the game. The melancholy mood on the sideline after the final point wasn’t one you’d expect from a team that had just won in straight sets.

But it’s how hard the team is on itself that keeps it moving forward and winning games.The average volleyball spectator probably wouldn’t have noticed anything fundamentally wrong with the Spartan’s performance Thursday night. Mountain View came out a little slow, lacking the energy that Slattery mentioned but were eventually able to pull away and win the first set 25-22.

In the second set, it became very obvious who the better team on the court was. The Spartans asserted their dominance and Slattery began to stand out and lead the team, with a team high of 14 kills. The hard-hitting senior pumped her team up with each point she smashed down. The Spartan pressure was too much for the much smaller and less experienced Lynbrook team to handle. The Vikings began to crack and were never able to make a legitimate run at winning the set, leading to a 25-20 Mountain View victory.

Once again, consistency was an issue for the Spartans in the third set. After dominating the second set, the Spartans came out looking sluggish and went down early in the set. Yet with freshman Chanti Holroyd serving significantly well and racking up ten aces, along with impressive play from players off the bench, the Spartans were able to mount a comeback and tie the third set at 18-18. The Spartans rode the momentum built up during the comeback and powered through the rest of the set to win by a final score of 25-20.

When the team was playing well tonight they were really playing well, the movement was great, and the kills were happening emphatically. Yet it was the times when the team lacked energy and played below their standards that left a bitter taste in the player’s mouths.

“It’s all consistency, it’s really all about consistency,” Chen said when asked about what the team can improve. Chen acknowledged the highs and lows of the game and hopes to draw out the highs throughout the remainder of the season, which is nearing the halfway point.

Looking forward, Chen is optimistic. “It’ll be a good battle to the end of the season,” he said. If the Spartans are able to play consistently at their full potential as a team and leaders such as Slattery continue to step up, this battle will be made a lot easier.

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