JV Girls Volleyball Worked Together To Earn Victories

The Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball team stepped up to win both pre-league and league wins this fall season. The girls earned a 2-0 victory against Concord in a non conference match. Kennedy dominated both sets, showing improved teamwork, communication, and serving. They also beat Irvington at both meetings.

“All the hard work we put in over the offseason finally paid off,” Chloe Kunze (9) said, signaling a promising start for the team as they head into league play

Even before the season officially starts, the team had a consistent conditioning and open gyms schedule held by Head Coach Bryan Nguyen. Throughout the summer, two weekdays would be allotted into training these athletes into shape and hone their technical volleyball skills.

Nguyen tried to design his coaching around the JV team to ensure everybody has the same opportunities to become great, and the environment is more about having fun than intense competition. “In that aspect, it’s more fun,” Nguyen claimed.

Nguyen would choose pre-league games, and these games tend to be less competitive than the MVAL league games. They geared towards more preparing the team with experience, and adjusting to mistakes made along the way.

Jody Tran (10) joked, "He rigs them, so we win them all."

There is a majority of freshmen on the JV team, 11 to be specific, compared to the other four sophomores on the team. Nguyen commented that he is proud that the sophomores had really step it up and contribute to making the team as successful as it can be, as they had played last year.

“I really liked how when the freshmen came, they were all already, like, bonded, and then they included, like, the sophomores in, and it's just, like, everyone already had a bond, so then we're all friends,” said Tran.

The team’s performance did have a noticeable slip as Nguyen had to assume Head Coach position for both Varsity and JV halfway into the season. It was harder to navigate planning and executing two practices in the same day, and making sure it was efficient for both teams.

“Coach Angela[assistant coach] and I also get stuck when I know they’re trying their best… there is a skill gap, and that can’t be addressed on the spot,” Nguyen explained.

Nevertheless, the team did wonderfully well against Irvington at both meetings, winning both games. They were also incredibly close at other games, as two or three plays would have given them a win. Mission San Jose stands to be a memorable game, as the Titans had lost the first set, but they pushed to win the second set, but ultimately lost the third set. This just however shows their improvement overall as a team.

The team also had many opportunities to bond. They would meet together at BJ and Chili’s to enjoy great food together, and these activities were planned by Nguyen to enrich the team even further.

Photo from Bryan Nguyen | The JV Girls Volleyball team beat the Irvington Vikings at away game.