Starting the season with a 5-4 record, the girls volleyball team prepares to take on rival Carmel at home on Tuesday. With bragging rights on the line, the Trojans look to extend their home winning streak. 

Junior Sophia Sabol compares this season with last year, believing they have a better chance at winning than they did a year ago when they lost to Carmel in straight sets.

“Last year when we played Carmel, we had a few girls out due to Covid,” Sabol said. “We really didn’t get to put our best against their best in that game. This year we are going to have the opportunity to do so.”

Building a bond throughout the team is just as important as building physical strength. Junior Sheridan Young recognizes the importance of this for the team.

“I think we feel pretty good,” Young said. “This year we are definitely a close knit family, and everyone gets along great which helps with the team chemistry on and off the court. Going into it, we are going to be very talkative with each other and understand what everyone can do. Everyone has their set position and we all know we need to work as a team if we’re going to win.”

Using the outcome of last year’s game as motivation, Senior Allee Dieterle is determined to take back a win, and she needs all the help from her fellow teammates she can get. 

“Last year we lacked team chemistry a lot,” Dieterle said. “We won the Carmel match nine years in a row, and then last year we lost. You can totally tell it was due to our lack of chemistry, and this year we definitely have a lot more. We are more team-oriented.”

Senior Julianna Weems has seen how these games play out and has experience in knowing how to prepare for rivalries such as this. Being a strong defensive player for the Trojans both this year and last, she knows what victory is going to take.

“It comes down to who wants it more,” Weems said. “It’s whoever is willing to put 100 percent into this game and who has the most energy. I feel like we’re prepared. We know how they play, it just comes down to how we execute.”

On the other side, there are multiple obstacles the team needs to overcome if they are going to succeed. These challenges are present on both sides of the net. Dieterle and Sabol recognize these obstacles and how to overcome them.

“Setter and hitter connections are what we need to work on the most,” Sabol said. “We have a bunch of different hitters and two setters that rotate all the time. Once we get that consistency we should be good.”

“Recently we have been struggling mentally in games. We really just need to show up with our A game and make sure that we’re all on the same page,” Dieterle said.

Despite a current 2-5 record, Carmel is still as much of a rival as they have been in the past. Even though both teams are out of the MIC, the fire from each has not been extinguished.