Millikan Girls Varsity Volleyball has just wrapped up another season filled with ups and downs. The Rams are coming off a rather unimpressive season and were looking to flip the script this season and that’s exactly what they did.
Varsity made a comeback this season, recently winning a big game against Wilson on Tuesday, October 1. When the Rams played Wilson on September 5, they suffered a tough defeat losing in five sets against an incredibly talented team. Despite this crushing blow at the beginning of the season though, the Rams didn’t let it faze them when they came right back and earned a 3-0 victory!
This was surely a memorable game for the team, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a stellar game from our star player number four Juda Washington, a senior in the COMPASS pathway coming into that game strong with a new opportunity to play and absolutely slamming the competition on court. A whopping dozen kills to count, that is one major accomplishment considering the average kill count on court is only three to four per game. For those wondering, a kill is awarded to a player who successfully attacks the ball whilst the other team does not return it.
“I haven’t gotten much opportunities to play in big games this season so getting to play the whole game and getting the most kills out of whole team is huge for me,” Washington says.
This marked a major milestone and achievement in her season this year. It’s not every game this incredible start arises. Her vitality and spirit was a great boost for the team, allowing for the whole team to feed off her energy and play better as well.
Doting on personal achievements as well, Washington says, “I’ve definitely felt an improvement in myself, more so on the mental side and staying checked in to the game.”
Washington has come a long way since freshman year, and the Varsity Coach (Anto) Antoinette De La Espirella is continuing to help her as well as the rest of the team flourish.
Keeping check of the girls mental and physical health, making sure they’re physically ready, as well as having serenity on the court and during practices; these are just some of the things Coach Anto does to keep them on their toes when playing. Just like many other high school teams in this district though, they had difficult competition to win the Moore League and get into the CIF Playoffs. There was a strong belief in both the coaches and the players themselves that they would be able to push through and succeed.
“We lost to Poly and Lakewood and Wilson in the first round but are striving to beat them all this second round just like we beat Wilson!” Washington comments.
Coming in hot, these lady Rams have come back in two of their three games that were leftover, beating Cabrillo and Lakewood. Although the team fell short once again to Poly, their chances of winning CIF’s are looking a lot stronger.
Millikan Rams Volleyball closed out their season with three extremely important games in which they played against Wilson, Poly, and then Lakewood. After sweeping Wilson and Lakewood off of their feet, the stage was set for an exciting final match where there would be a face-off for the Moore League title against Poly. Millikan unfortunately fell short and was unable to close the win against the Jackrabbits.
Despite this loss, the Rams were set to start the CIF playoffs at Heritage Christian High School. After a hard fought win followed by yet another dominant win, their CIF journey fell short at El Dorado High School where the rams lost 3-1.
The Rams will look to
