Training. The work, blood, sweat, and tears for a game. A game that is your life, your passion. The reason you give 110% for every serve, for every volley, for every spike. But is it all for nothing?

For the seniors on the volleyball team, this season is more than just another season. This year is the last ride. A end of an era. The final season with the girls they’ve called family for the past three years. “This is my last year with my SV family and while it makes me very sad, it also makes me appreciate it that much more” said Lili Sandoval. They have put in the work and to see it possibly be all for nothing is a hard pill to swallow. “Going into the season, my main focus is to win and do everything I can to help this team go as far as possible” Naomi Ortiz stated.

The team has taken leaps and bounds in their on-court performance and its shown in their record over the past years. ”Going into the season I am very positive that our hard work in the offseason and our effort to stay together during the months of quarantine will be visible in our play on the court” said Hailey Hayes.

Due to the Coronavirus the season is in jeopardy of being cancelled. This is a trend for not only the volleyball team, but all the sports that have been directly effected by the outbreak that made its presence known in the sports world back in March. “This year has been so crazy because of corona, so waiting to find out if our season would be taken away has been very stressful” said Sarah Hankosky.

However, that hasn’t stopped the training and the relentless drive to get better. For the seniors, there is a lot of emotion that goes into the preparation for the season. ”Training 3-4 times a day either it being volleyball training or just conditioning. I think that no matter what, you should always be training and preparing to find ways to get better” expressed Esther Duglas. That seems to be the mindset around the entire senior class. The extensive training to find ways to improve their game and I think thats why this season is so meaningful to them.

This is their last time to be in front of their home faithful and to make those last memories with their volleyball family. Knowing how important the season means to them, it is really hard to see it possibly all go for not. “I made some of my best friends on this team, and I’ve been playing with some of them since I was 11. This season is a last hoorah for us as we all go our separate ways for college. I will be sad to say goodbye to these girls” Naomi Ortiz said. I’ve had the luxury of interviewing and talking to these amazing student athletes and there is no one that deserves that last ride more then this group of girls.

The fait of the season falls in the hands of the UIL and they have yet to make a decision on the matter. The UIL will have to ensure the safety of the players and if canceling the season ensures that safety, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the season ends before it even begins. The thought of possibly not playing is “obviously devastating” Duglas said, “it took a lot to get where the team has gotten at this point and it is taking a lot of time from our offseason and summer training as well.”

The drive and heart of this group of girls is summed up best by this quote from Lili Sandoval, she said “That obstacles should not make you want t0 quit, they should fuel your drive to push harder then you thought you could.”