This line was said in the midst of the celebrations on senior night, a sentiment shared by all the members of the team.
Before the players took to the court, they stood silently in the gym listening to emotional speeches to seniors from team members. This was a night to remember for seniors, their final game with the MVHS team. But they still had an important game to play, and when the speeches were over they took up their positions on the court. MVHS showed its strengths during the pre-game warm up with multiple players delivering spikes, spurring excitement in the gym.
The sound of the buzzer silenced the fans as MVHS got together in a huddle to encourage each other once more before the game began. The match started with Palo Alto HS holding a strong lead, but the momentum quickly shifted when senior Ellie Cary delivered multiple kills for MVHS. Nearing the end of the first set, the game was extremely close And the second set was similar; MVHS kept up with PAHS even after a first set loss.
Unfortunately, MVHS lost by a few points by the end of each set. PAHS took the third set from MVHS, with MVHS ultimately losing the game 0-3 with set scores of 27-29, 21-25, 14-25.
Even though MVHS fell in straight sets against the league’s top-seeded team, they never lost the drive and excitement from senior night. Team members like seniors Ellie Cary, Amanda Hua and Selena Liu delivered strong performances as their seasons and their high school careers came to a close.
Senior Ellie Cary, who played hard during the game, and felt that it was a great experience to be with the volleyball team. Cary’s memorable moments from her volleyball career include a victory against Los Gatos High School this season. “I would have to say that Los Gatos game was memorable because we beat them for the first time in 17 years,” Cary said. “Which is as long as Anderson has been coaching so it was a good experience to be a part of.”
One of senior Amanda Hua’s most memorable moments from her high school career was when she and Cary injured people in the bleachers whenever they hit the ball too hard. “[Senior night was] very sad, but I also feel very excited at the same time. I would say it’s nostalgic,” Hua said.For senior Selena Liu, the night felt very nostalgic. She remembers her first senior night as a sophomore and explained that it feels different to be the one finally experiencing senior night as a senior. “It was like I had never seen it before [and] it’s weird finally to be the one to experience it,” Liu said. “There are a lot of memorable things, but the most memorable is when you win the close games or when you play really well as a team.”Senior Tori Chen found it hard to believe that it was her last year, but she was happy to be together with the team. “This being our last year is sad,” Chen said. “But it was also good to be with the team for one last game.”“It’s kind of sad, but it also feels so real because we’re now seniors. It solidifies the fact that we’re leaving next year and that we’re leaving this team. It’s sad and exciting,” Whall said. “Every time we spend time as a team it’s very memorable.”Anderson says that the fact that MVHS took the top seed in the league 27 to 29 made it a good game for him. PAHS won, but he says that the great energy and close sets made him happy overall. “We did a couple different things this year. We got some healthy players back and so we had some good energy. That’s the first place team in league, and the fact that we took them 27 v 29 that’s a good match.” Anderson said. ”I think we can get a little faster and I think we can get a little more comfortable because we ran a new offense tonight and I was happy with how we did that. I think there are still a few weaknesses we can improve on.”
