On October 3, the MVHS girls volleyball team went up against their long-time rival, Lynbrook HS. Despite player substitutions due to injuries, the team put up a strong fight and lost 1-3.

MVHS lost their first set by nine points, but quickly picked up in the second, After a close set with unforced errors on both sides, they finished the set with a score of 25-16, resulting in a second set victory. The scores at the beginning were close, but MVHS gradually increased their lead from two points, to six, to nine.

“After we won the second match, I felt more confident,” junior Phoebe Li said. “Everyone was cheering pretty loudly and everyone was smiling a lot more.”

But despite these cheers, the team was unable to win the third and fourth sets. Junior Trinity Nguyen also noticed that the players become more quiet as the game progressed and especially when the team started losing its momentum.

“Players were getting tired,” Nguyen said “We just stopped talking to each other. The bench got really quiet and it just affected the entire team.”

Kotesova chalked the loss up to a lack in effective communication, which she said was something the coach often reminded the players about, and that caused the team to quiet down. Kotesova also had to take on the role of libero in the game, as the usual libero, junior Tung Lin, was injured.

“It’s been kind of hard since it’s not a position I’m used to,” Kotesova said. “But it’s also really fun to learn a new position and get used to that.”

In preparation for their upcoming game, the players plan to continue practicing so they can keep their stamina up, stay energized, and work on communicating with each other.

MVHS will play Palo Alto HS on Thurs. Oct. 20 in their next home game.