As Mr. Corfield, our beloved high school history teacher loves to say, the “winds of change are blowing my friend.” This time, though, we aren’t talking about controversies in Africa or daily life in Manchester. We are talking about the pivoting future of Berkeley Carroll’s Varsity Girls’ 2013 Volleyball team. In the past, the girls have been good and consistently improving. The team has always started the year off rocky but come back to almost win championships at the end of the season. The team has tends to start off the season rocky, but this year, the team is not playing around. The girls have kicked off the season with two nail-biting and well-deserved victories.

Although school had only been in session for a week, the girl’s volleyball team had been seriously shvitzing for three weeks, training for the season to kick off for hours in the school’s stuffy gym. Those extra practices paid off once team hit the floor. The first game was at Packer, a name which is always said with a sigh of ingrained competition. Berkeley Carroll’s rivalry with Packer is renowned and runs even deeper for the Girls volleyball team. This is because Packer won the Championships last fall by only a few points. The BC Lions were obviously ready to take back what was rightfully theirs. The night ended in victory for Berkeley Carroll when they swept three full sets in a row; out of the five. The Varsity Volleyball team, pardon my French, kicked butt on the court and scared Packer out of their minds!

Coming off of a win can be a double-edged sword. It’s exhilarating to be filled with confidence and adrenaline, but it can also pack on the pressure. The team now had to defend its 1-0 record. The mindset of the entire team going into the next game against Brooklyn Friends was determined, to say the least. The Brooklyn Friends volleyball extravaganza was on that 90 degree, summer-in-September Thursday—the one that felt plucked right out of a cheesy sport’s movie like Bring it On or Friday Night Lights. The girls lost the first set, won the second set, won the third set, lost the fourth set, and had the entire crowd at the edge of their seats for the fight during the final, fifth set. Each point included a rally, back and forth.  Before the fifth deciding set, each team ran out of the sauna-like gym on the 7th floor onto the playground. The BC Lion girls huddled in a tight-knit circle, inspirationally speaking as lightning began to strike. Drops of rain fell as the teams reentered the gym to fight for their victory. Can I have a quick drumroll please… The end of the night was a success! The girls fought hard for every point, exemplifying a unified team filled with communication and skill and swept away the other team. One highlight included senior Shayna Depersia acing the competition for the winning point!

So far, the BC Girls Volleyball team is in great shape. As with every year, the team has had to make some adjustments in order to fill in for the graduating seniors. The seniors on the team include Georgia Horton (captain), Eliza Liebler (captain), Isabelle Shoji, Shayna Depersia, Gia Franklin, and Alyssa Mercado. The Juniors include Alex Pachter, Laura Gilbert, Nicole Meza, and DeAndra Forde. The Freshmen (that’s right) include: Olivia Abramchick-Cavallo, Simone Silvan, and Sarah Bender. Georgia, who previously played the leading position of setter is now sharing the setting job with Alex Pachter so that they can both hit and set. Eliza continues to smack the ball from the outside position right at the other team’s faces, and hard. Laura and Sarah are both middle hitters who love to spot the corners and aggressively block against the other team’s taller girls. Izzy runs around the court picking up balls and diving to the floor whenever necessary. Simone and Olivia, even though this is their first year on the team, they show no fear when receiving speedy spikes and show great potential. Shayna—well let’s just say be careful where you step when Shayna raises her arm with a ball in hand. Gia and Alyssa are talented recievers. Nicole and DeAndra are consist in serving the ball in the other team’s holes. When all these girls step onto the court together, they make a presence. In the past the presence has been that of a rag-tag team who somehow ended up on top, but this year, the rags are gone. The team is brewing a storm. So watch out New York City athletes, because this hurricane is predicted to be powerful enough to blow even Dorothy all the way back to the land of Oz.