Daniel O'Toole contributed to this article
Malden High School’s volleyball program continues to grow as a well-respected program in the state. This year’s season has done nothing but keeps that reputation afloat as the Golden Tornados improve from a healthy 7-1 to an 8-1 record on the season in a Friday night contest against the Lynn English Bulldogs.
The game started off with a show of the Golden Tornados' dominant offensive firepower as senior captain Rachel Lin’s hits sizzled into the Bulldogs’ side and gave Malden the upper hand early in the first set, 16-7.
However, after the offensive clinic, the Golden Tornados had some communication bloopers when the Bulldogs had a scoring rally of their own. Lynn English snuck their way right back into the set, bringing the score to a close 16-12.
After a timeout and some regrouping, the Golden Tornados stepped back onto the court looking more relaxed and calculated with their hits. They steamrolled the Bulldogs to close out the set with a 25-16 victory, putting Malden up 1-0 in the contest.
The second set was a rollercoaster, with many lead changes throughout the set. A chaotic beginning, where Malden did not look like their normal selves and dropped down 2-7 to the Bulldogs.
The Malden side soon seemed to awaken yet still the Golden Tornados were down 11-13 in the set. Malden then fell back into a hole and continued to struggle and the score went to 12-19 with Lynn English on top.
Suddenly, a spark lit by the acrobatic defensive plays of Malden’s senior Middle Hitter, Anna Yak, stormed the Golden Tornados to a 19-20 score and forced a Bulldogs’ timeout.
The crowd was electric, as Malden Defensive Specialist, Yuki Yang’s serves dropped into the opposing side and picked apart the Bulldog’s defense. Further propelling Malden to win the set 26-24 putting them up 2-0 in the match.
The third and final set of the night was a quick one as Malden carried their momentum over from the previous sets, and gained a score of 11-0 in the opening part of the set.
However, the Golden Tornados had a tendency to let up while they were ahead and let the Bulldogs creep up to a score of 19-14. Once again, after a timeout and a pep talk from Head Coach, Dan Jurkowski, the Golden Tornados decimated the Bulldogs 25-17 to win the set and the game.
After the 3-0 win, when asked about his opinions on the teams’ performance so far this season Malden Head Coach, Jurkowski, mentioned the team has had “Much more highs than lows” and that the team is showing constant growth and “getting a little bit better each day.”
Coach Jurkowski is also extremely proud of the leadership qualities that both senior captains, Lin and Kelly Le have shown this season. “This is their team and leadership wise, they've done what they need to do. The girls look up to them, they respect them.”
Perhaps this is thanks to Lin’s selflessness as a captain as she sets up practice time based on her team's availability and not her own. Lin also mentioned, “Let's say that drama is on the team, they come to me, and I will usually talk to coach or I will help them resolve it.” However, she does feel more pressure with her duties on the team being a captain.
The feeling was mutual between the players and Coach Jurkowski, as Senior Victoria Loreus commented that, “He's a really great guy, and I think he's an amazing coach too. I wouldn't want any other person to coach us.” Additionally, Lin, who also thought highly of him, added that ”He did a really good job as a coach and he's really supportive of us.”.
Whe asked about the comparison between this year’s lineup versus that of last year, there was a similar agreement among those interviewed on the team. Junior Shuyi Chen concluded, “I feel like it's the same amount of competitiveness, but the seniors were a loss.” Lin thought last year’s team might edge out this year’s team in terms of competitiveness, but Lin also feels that “The atmosphere of the team is better this year as opposed to last year.” Loreus also agreed, stating that “This year we definitely have a stronger bond, I feel like everybody loves each other.”
While discussing the topic of improvement Lin, Loreus, Chen, and Jurkowski all agreed that communication needed to be refined on the court and consistency needed to be improved upon. Jurkowski is hopeful and believes that the team is making steps in the right direction and is “Just trying to get more consistent every single day.”
Coach Jurkowski is especially proud of the direction that the whole entire program and culture that Malden High’s volleyball program is sprouting into, as he mentioned “Culture is one thing that I'm always super proud about with the volleyball team, the boys and the girls. We had over 80 girls sign up, which is a credit to the culture that we built and the girls that are part of the program.”
Coach Jurkowski and his team are all optimistic that the team can put together a deep state playoff run if they stay consistent. As the season moves forward Jurkowski noted that three goals remain constant every year, “The first is to win GBL, it's always the first goal. The second goal is to qualify for states. And the third goal is just to try to have as much fun as we possibly can, every single day.”
Be sure to stay updated on this exciting team as they compete for a GBL title and their seed in the MIAA state playoffs.
