As the 2023-2024 school year starts, the Girl’s Royals Volleyball Program has already gotten a head start in the pre-season. However, things did not go as planned for the Royals. Having lost eleven of their seniors from last year’s CIF quarter-finalist team, this year is considered a “rebuilding year” for the girls. Their pre-season schedule was challenging, to say the least. They had faced off against all out-of-league schools, some of them being D2/D3 competitors in CIF, such as West Ranch, Saugus, and La Salle High Schools. The Royals finished with a heartbreaking 1-6 record in the pre-season, but not all hope was lost. Coach Gutierrez and the girls decided to use it as a learning opportunity and got to work.
After countless hours in the gym, working on coming together as a team, the girls’ hard work seemed to pay off recently. They are currently first in Golden League with a record of 6-0. They took the pre-season challenges to heart. When asked, ‘What are your thoughts and feelings going into Golden League after such a tough pre-season?’ their captain, Skyler Billips, answered, “Pre-season was a good learning experience for the team. We played tough competition and learned a lot about how we work with each other. It put the rest of the season and training into perspective because we knew we had to focus more in practice. I was not worried about going into Golden League because I knew we had a hard-working team. We always go 110% in practice. Practices are hard, and our coaches put a lot of pressure on us to improve. We knew Golden League wouldn’t be easy if we didn’t play with all our energy, so we also had to focus on maintaining energy throughout the games. It made a huge difference in playing Highland and our better competition. It took a lot of trial and error before we started to come together, but I believe we are as good as we are now because we had to work for it.”
Their most recent match was against our infamous rivals, Highland High School. There was much anticipation for this matchup, as they both lost many seniors from last year. Whenever these two schools face off, no matter the sport, they constantly produce a large crowd. After the starting whistle was blown, both teams had a phenomenal start. They were head-to-head throughout the first set, but the Royals clinched it 28-26. This first-set win messed up the Highland girls as Quartz Hill breezed through the second set 25-12. However, the third set was a different story. Our girls were able to keep it a close set, but they let off the gas pedal just a little bit, and the Highland girls took the opportunity to win the set 25-20. This was a wake-up call for the Royals. They took the third set personally and were fired up for the fourth. They ended up taking the fourth set 25-14 and ultimately taking home the win as well. This was a huge confidence booster for the girls after they had put the pre-season behind them.
Make sure to show your support for the Girl’s Royals Volleyball team as they head into the second half of their season next week. They are in much need of your support, and you won’t regret watching them compete as a newly built team. These girls show much promise and don’t intend to disappoint. Go Royals!
