Delina Yohannes and Emalie Teixeira also contributed to this article.
(Left to right) Jade Mora, Kim Nguyen, Ramneet Chahai, Alina Dao, Vivienne Crawford, Shuyi Chen, Abigail Lee, Loreus Victoria, Chloe Chen, Anna Yak, Keira Lin, Rachel Lin, Kelly Li, Yuki Yang, Taylor Lee. EMALIE TEIXEIRA.
Starting off strong and continuing to a 12-3 record, this year Malden High’s Girls Varsity Volleyball team has played a successful season filled with ups and downs. The team did not let the losses put them down as they learned and grew from them, building a stronger team.
The October 4th game against Stoneham was a big win for the Malden High Volleyball team and volleyball fans. The team is looking to carry good momentum into the Division 1 State Tournament, which they qualified for after beating Stoneham at Malden High School.
This game had many impressive plays from the players and many thrilling moments. Shuyi Chen and Vivienne Crawford hit many strikes at the Stoneham team while Anna Yak and Alina Dao made many defensive blocks.
Captain Kelly Li prepares to receive the ball from her opponents. EMALIE TEIXEIRA.
The crowd was ecstatic, screaming cheers of encouragement and support. The game ended with a 3-0 score which had the Malden High Volleyball team finally achieve their second goal of qualifying for the Division 1 State Tournament.
Every set was close but Malden took the lead each time. The scoreboard went back and forth at the start of each set with Malden making amazing plays to get the upper hand from Stoneham.
Dao scored the team many aces while Rachel Lin and Kelly Li had amazing dives across the court. The crowd stayed hopeful even when the scores became close the cheers of the crowd weren’t left unheard. They finished off the third set with a 25 to 15 score leading them to a successful and well deserved victory.
(Left) Kim Nguyen and Alina Dao in ready Position.
(Middle) Chloe Chen and Ramneet Chahal awaiting the next play.
(Right) Alina Dao hitting the ball. EMALIE TEIXEIRA.
“I was actually kind of nervous coming into this year because last year we had ten seniors…we had a lot of girls who were going to be on varsity this year… so we were very inexperienced,” Coach Daniel Jurkowski said.
Almost every position was played by a senior leaving this year's team to fill their shoes with little to no varsity experience. They overcame these challenges with persistence and optimism and successfully played each role on the team. When the players were asked about their roles they said it took a lot of dedication but they still showed their true passion and ability to overcome anything that comes their way this season.
The switch from last year's team to this year's team was a big leap for the girls. Li stated, “it feels like building a whole new team this year for me since all the seniors from last year graduated.”
(Left) Kim Nguyen setting the ball.
(Right) The team huddling together. EMALIE TEIXEIRA
Lin said it was intimidating but this change made her a stronger person as well as a stronger player. The captains have gone through a lot this season but have come to adapt and love this year's team. The other girls on the team have expressed that they have grown both athletically and personally.
”It hasn’t always been perfect this year. We've had some ups and downs but for the most part I think the girls have kind of stepped up to the challenge even though we were very inexperienced,” Jurkowski expressed.
The girls continue to thrive as they make it to states completing their ultimate goal for the year. They all have different opinions of this season and different experiences throughout but went on and did the best they could making this an amazing season.
“I was nervous at first [about coaching volleyball] but it’s something that I’ve come to enjoy…it’s something that I look forward to every single day so even if you have a bad day in school, I know having volleyball after school is gonna be something positive and brighten my day and I hope my kids feel the same way,” stated Jurkowski.
Even when things were looking down, the girls stayed determined, ”Never give up no matter if you're having a bad day or not,” stated Kim Nguyen. Through the mistakes and losses this season they shook it off and tried again in their next game.
“Each play is a new play, each set is a new set,” Jurkowski said encouraging his players to leave the past behind them.
