The Rebel girls’ volleyball team had an outstanding performance at the division four CIF finals on Saturday, November 3rd. The team was able to sweep their Polytechnic Panther opponents with a score of 3-0. The Rebel team strongly headed into state and played their first match on Tuesday, November 6th.

Despite the overall win at the CIF finals, the first two sets were vigorously fought by both teams and the scores were alarmingly close. The first set was filled with action, with the Rebels coming out on top with the score of 30-28. However, the Panthers made an effort to show that they deserved a win as well, making the game thrilling as the two teams fought for every single point. With such a close set, the energy in the gym was extremely high and the players and the audience were amped up.

The second set was also very close, and the Rebels knew that even the slightest mistake could allow the Panthers to take the win. However, Quartz Hill was victorious with the Rebels beating the Panthers 25-23.

Despite the strong competition, after winning 2-0, the Rebels were looking strong and had a lot of momentum, and with this they were on their way to sweeping the Panthers and taking the championship title.

Lelani Hallman, a senior at Quartz Hill, stated: “We were happy to be up 2-0 at the end of the second set, but we know Polytechnic was a good team and we couldn’t let our guards down.”

Despite being ahead in the series, the Rebels were determined to finish the game out strong, and they did just that. The Rebels were able to beat the Panthers in the last set with a score of 25-16. After the win, both the spectators and the players exploded with excitement.

Following this victory, the team immediately began their preparation for the next match: the first round of state. The Rebels were scheduled to play against the Westview Wolverines, a team with a subpar record in comparison to our own team’s. Despite this, the Wolverines posed a great threat to the Rebels.

Similar to the CIF finals, the scores of the first two sets were agonizingly close, with the results being 25-22 and 28-26 in favor of the Rebels. However, the third set proved to be a difficult feat as the Wolverines came out victorious with a score of 29-27. As the Rebels had won their last couple of games with a clean sweep, losing the third set of the game was a shock to not only the players, but also the students watching. Nonetheless, the Rebels made a quick come back in the fourth set, ultimately winning the game with a score of 25-19.

The team was able to come out victorious with hard work, a strong team bond, and excellent coaching. The mindset needed prior to starting a game can make or break an entire performance. Therefore, it was essential that the players calmed their nerves down and focused before every game. Alicia Volk stated, “Going into the matches, we focused on both mental and physical preparation. Our coach made sure to hold us at high standards in practice and stressed teamwork.”

Another important factor to the games was the student section. The stands were filled with students and parents, which only drove the Rebels to perform even better. Hallman mentioned, “It’s always nice to play at home. We have a great student section that keeps the energy up. They were loud and it definitely helped us when the score was close.”

When asked about how the Rebels plan to tackle the next round of state, Volk states, “There isn’t anything we would do differently for the next game, since what we have been doing has gotten us this far.” The Rebels are looking forward to the next round, and after a promising win, the Rebels are hoping to take it all!