Varsity Girls Volleyball defeated Milpitas High School 3-0 in a home game on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Although the game against MHS was only its second in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, the team had already been to scrimmages and tournaments, holding a current win-to-loss ratio of 10-3 following the game against MHS.
MVHS had an easy win in the first set, ending at 25-11. While MHS kept up for the first few points, MVHS pulled ahead early by scoring consistently across all rotations. The second set was a tight game, but the Matadors came out victorious with a score of 25-23. Towards the end of the set, both teams made a few unforced errors, but MVHS adjusted quickly, securing the win. MVHS closed out the third set 25-17 by disrupting MHS’ plays with tough serves. While momentum slowed during the last few points, the Matadors’ initial lead allowed them to finish off the game with ease. Nadia Lan, the head coach of the team, attributes the victory to the team’s strategic serving.
“Even though they might be good passers, if you serve between them, they will start hesitating,” Lan said. “So that’s what the team does. They try different spots — if serving at the same place doesn’t work, they aim for a different spot.”
Lan also emphasizes the importance of the bench. In addition to being substitutes for the players on the court, the bench also holds the job of maintaining the team morale by performing rehearsed cheers after successful plays.
“Keeping the momentum is very important. Every game relies on that,” Lan said. “That’s why you can see all of the bench cheering so loud, just wanting to get the spirit up.”
Reflecting on the team’s positive mindset, Lan highlights the Matadors’ ability to turn setbacks into opportunities, explaining how they didn’t let their loss to Los Gatos on Monday discourage them. Instead, the Matadors analyzed their mistakes and utilized past experience to make a quick recovery in the match against MHS.
“We use statistics to judge the current situation, determine who is performing well, and understand the areas that need to be improved,” Lan said. “It is a good thing that we play a strong team once in a while. That forces our players to come back and think about what we can do. As a coach, my responsibility is to play to every player’s strength. I don’t want them to play in a field and say, ‘Oh, we’re already there.’ I want to push them to get better.”
Senior and middle hitter Jocelyn Zou also believes in the value of in-game experience, mentioning how playing at tournaments contributes to their cohesiveness as a team. MVHS has played in three tournaments so far, including Hillsdale and Spikefest, recently taking third place at the Hillsdale tournament.
“The season’s off to a pretty strong start,” Zou said. “We played at tournaments almost every weekend so far, which really strengthens our bond as a team. We just know the team’s tendencies, what each other is like. Then, nothing comes as a surprise — we just anticipate it before it happens. Everyone is really connected.”
