The continuous hours of blocking, spiking and hitting, combined with team bonding, has pulled CHS’s girls volleyball team closer together.

After their 18-1 record during the season last year, they are trying new techniques to up their game and play to the best of their ability. With four managers, senior Richard Tan, senior Erik Hillard, senior Leon Lu and junior Justin Jin, the team is sure to have a constant support system.

“A lot of the girls I met during the previous years as they were on co-ed and I was on the boys team,” Tan said. “ I enjoy being a manager since I can learn a lot from them, practice against them to improve together and I try to help out in anyway I can.”

Uniformity is key in volleyball as it is in any sport. Relying on teammates and calling the ball is crucial to winning a game.

“My favorite part of volleyball is team unity,” senior Grace Xia said. “It’s very cool to see players of a team literally pulsating together as they move in and out for each play.”

Besides spending time on the court, the girls also have a big- little sister system. Varsity players, sophomores and above, randomly choose one to two junior varsity girls to pair up with. Using this system allows the upperclassman to help the younger. For the first game of every week, the sisters exchange some kind of gift. The team also has an annual sleepover and will occasionally have dinners after games where the team bonds and talks about how their game progressed.

According to Xu, the tradition has helped connect the two teams and keep everyone looking forward to the games.

The team holds an annual Dig Pink fundraiser at Potomac Village to support breast cancer. Dig Pink is a foundation that brings volleyball players across the country together to raise funds for breast cancer research. They also play Dig Pink games, where they have contests and prizes for participants.

“Dig pink demonstrates the power of teamwork across the nation for breast cancer research,” senior Carolyn Youstra said.

The volleyball teams at CHS are all part of a big volleyball circle. Many boys from the co-ed and Boy’s volleyball teams come to give support to the girls JV and Varsity team during their fall season. They practice and spend time with one another. This way, the boys can learn new skills from the girls and vice versa.

“During the coed season in particular, I became familiar with playing with guys,” Xia said. “Their aggressive and dynamic technique has quickened my reflexes and toughened me up.”

Although the team has lost five significant players from last year, they hope to follow in their footsteps.

“My first hope for the team is for everyone to have fun and enjoy volleyball because that’s what we’re all here for,” Xu said. “My second hope for the team is for us to make it far in playoffs by playing as one whole, hardworking team.