Girls Volleyball Smashes Competition at Fort Hamilton
Seniors Anisa Kaloshi, Rebecca Grigoruev, Lia Harityunyan, and Farida Mostafa hold the team’s first place trophy at Fort Hamilton.
Photo Credit: Regina Hoxha
By REBECCA GRIGORYEV and ANISA KALOSHI
With a 25-24 lead in the final game, setter Ajlina Cekic ’22 served an ace against division rival Fort Hamilton, winning the first tournament of the season on September 21. The girls volleyball team currently holds a 10-0 record in the middle of an exciting season.
The Fort Hamilton tournament started at 9 am. Two pools consisting of four teams each played against each other in two sets. The top two teams of each pool advanced to the playoffs, then the semi-final, and eventually the final game. The girls volleyball team played back-to-back games until they finally earned their championship title ten hours later.
“It was such a proud moment, especially for the seniors,” said captain Lia Harutunyan ’20, “After winning city champs in 2016, we’ve been rebuilding the program ever since, and now the hard work has finally paid off.”
The girls practice six days a week for at least three hours, including conditioning in the weight room, resistance bands, agility exercises, and game situation tactics. They have been consistent with this routine since 2017, when Mr. Tommy Ma started coaching the team.
The mentality of the team as a whole is different this year. In previous years, the girls struggled with consistency when faced with adversity in a game, but this attitude has reversed this season.
The girls were down eight points in the beginning of the semi-final game against Millenium in the Fort Hamilton tournament, but they were able to come back to take the lead and the win.
“My goal for this season is to win our division,” said coach Tommy Ma.
He expects the seniors to set a great example this year for the freshmen, who now make up a majority of the team.
Defensive specialist Farida Mostafa ’20 said, “The new talent brought in by the freshmen this year has been the best we’ve seen in a while. I’m excited for what they can bring to the court.”
Outside hitter Janis Wu ’23 said, “Practices are more tough and strict than I expected, but our hard work pays off in the end. I’m excited to have joined the team this year and be able to work with new people and learn from them.”
The players say they have stepped up their chemistry and communication this year.
Carrelle Zak ’21 said, “We have a big team of 22 girls, but we’ve grown so close to each other because we spend most of our day together.”
Veronica Zahula ’21 said, “We’ve had lots of tough times when we had to pick each other up and lean on each other, so it felt amazing to be able to experience this win together!”