The net goes up for the last time, ending the freshman volleyball season this year on October 19. Closing out, the freshmen volleyball team had a good run, ending off the season 9-7. The freshmen are ready to take it a step further the next year of Independence volleyball and grow even more.

Their biggest game was against Stone Bridge High School and was a close game. However, in the end, they pulled through in the third set, winning 15-13. “It was a super close game, and the most anticipated since so many people were there,” Aleeza Wani said. “It was probably the most people this year that came to see our game.”

As a team, becoming better team players was crucial to play this sport, but it came to them quickly. “Bonding moments were the best parts of this season,” Mia Washington stated. “More than bonding on the court, we bond outside of it.”

Part of the team’s success in games was communicating loudly through the court. Setting, spiking and bumping the ball to each other is super important in volleyball, and the game can’t function without some signal to the player. As the game progressed, communication became something that the audience could hear more clearly.

“Communication was definitely one of the main strategies we used,” Wani said. “We basically came up with strategies as a rally went on, and the quick changes only happened because we trusted each other.”

Each player had different motivations to join the freshman team, but Wani had one in particular that stood out more than the rest. “The person that motivated me the most was my dad because he always pushed me to practice and get better. He also would always practice with me, which was great.”

Though the season may not have been perfect, it definitely shows that they are ready to step up into the next level of volleyball. The players hope to continue on to the JV or varsity teams next year.