Varsity Girls fight to the end in v-ball tourney

On October 14th, the Varsity Volleyball Girls played at the Shanghai International Schools Activity Conference (SISAC) Volleyball Tournament. “We were in the plate tournament… ” a player of the Varsity Girls, Julianne Pan (11C), said. “We won the first game versus Western International School(WISS).” So the girls got off to a great start.

The captain of the team, Debbie Chen (12C), was very satisfied with the result. “We won fourth place but it was the best tournament we’ve had in three years.” She proudly stated, “Every player was focused on the game, and even when we made a mistake, we don’t let the errors affect how we play. I am extremely proud of how we cheered each other on and applied what we learned during practices in the tournament. Although we didn’t make it to top three, I feel like this was our best performance in the season.”

Debbie wasn’t the only one who was proud of the team – James Kim (12C), a supporter, felt the same. “Overall, I was proud of the Lady Sharks. I believe the team had an awesome playing statistics in terms of the number of games won, the points earned, etc.” James continued, “Other than [scores], what impressed me the most was the team spirit that burned within each member of the team – from the starters to the subs, and of course the coach. The different brief chants they made as a team at the end of each play kept the team focused because they encouraged the player who made mistakes…and pushed the rest of the team to continue.”

Compared to the first games they played, the Varsity Girls had significant improvements. When asked about the changes, Debbie replied, “We communicated with each other better, hustled more, and most importantly, we have better spirit and energy. It’s amazing how persistent the team is, we never give up after every lost point and fight to gain it back.”

Julianne said, “We fought until the end and didn’t give up!” The encouraging team spirit had touched the fans as well. “It was good to be a part of the tournament as an audience and watch the girls make things happen together as a team,” James commented. “That is the kind of spirit I look forward to seeing in all teams in SMIC.”

Featured Image: Photo courtesy of Sopia Feom