Volleyball Members Take Second in JCH Tournament

JCH serves to open the game. Photo Credit:Anisa Kaloshi

By NADIAH SHOHATEE and DIMITRI GAMKRELIDZE

Winning five out of six games played at the tournament, fellow hornets and girls volleyball team members Lia Harutyunyan ’20, Anisa Kaloshi ’20, Farida Mostafa ’20, and Rebecca Grigoryev ’20 have taken second place at have volleyball league regionals where they represented the Jewish Community House (JCH) young women’s volleyball team. 

“We were ranked as the second highest power index in our pool, so it was great to beat the first,” said Kaloshi. “That gave us a good spot in the playoff rounds.”

Mostafa said, “The competitors were strong in terms of skill, but we could make smart plays and aim at specific spots to get them stressed and upset. With communication and chemistry, we fought our way into beating the top two teams in our pool 2-0.”

Kaloshi said, “We all played together with high energy through quarters and semifinals, but things started to fall apart in finals.”

The final started off on a high note, with the team opening their first set in game with an 11 point lead. The libero served eight times with four aces. However, things became more difficult by the second set. Due to some passing errors, the team fell behind by three points and eventually lost by a score of 25-23.

As much as the girls fought for the last few points, playing from 8:00am to 6:00pm took a huge toll on them.

“We weren’t playing as a team, and our energy started draining,” said Harutyunyan. “We still wanted to win bad, but our body language wasn’t translating that. We had a really good chance of winning regionals; I think the only challenge was ourselves.”

Joseph Agrest, the coach of the JHC volleyball team, said, “They are used to playing completely different positions on the Midwood volleyball team, so this year they had to step out of their comfort zone and train harder in order to become better setters.”

Although the team didn’t bring bring home the gold, they still took second place and have lots to learn from.

“It was one of our best tournaments in terms of defense and team collectivity,” said Harutyunyan. “Although we didn’t win, it was a great lesson to never give up.”