The Malibu High School girls’ volleyball program kicked off its season last week, suffering three close losses to the Santa Clara Saints.
The freshman-sophomore team played first, and after losing the first set, the Sharks came from behind in the second game to force a tiebreaker. The girls showed heart, but the Saints rallied back to win the third and final set.
The junior varsity squad met a similar fate, losing the first set and forcing a third game after pulling out a 26-24 victory in the second set. Despite Malibu taking an early 6-1 lead, Santa Clara bounced back to win, 15-12.
“We came back in the second game, and I was really surprised by the girls’ ability to keep moving forward even after we were down,” Sharks JV team captain Coral Silverberg said. “We ended up losing the match, but I think we played pretty well.”
The Sharks varsity team came out of the gate strong, winning the first set 25-17. The Saints took the second set, but the Sharks responded with a decisive 25-12 victory in the third game. The Saints came back in the fourth set, sending the game into the third tiebreaker of the night.
“It’s more difficult when you lose the fourth game because the other team has the momentum and the fifth game is so short,” Malibu head coach Carlos Gray said. “It’s really tough on the team that loses, and around 60 percent of teams that lose the fourth set lose the game.”
The Sharks fell victim to the odds, and despite trading points in the opening minutes and tying the match at 9-9, Malibu was unable to hold on, suffering a 15-11 loss.
“We worked really hard on the court and we competed, and it’s obvious that these girls care. Our effort is there, it’s just our execution has to get a little better,” Gray said.
As with any team at the beginning of a new season, the Sharks are overcoming the loss of several key players from last season.
The Sharks returned only two players from last year’s varsity roster: outside hitter Sienna Masiello and middle blocker Paige Holbrook.
“Improvement,” Gray said. “That our mantra. We’ve got to get better with the ball, and we’ve got to make better decisions. All I can do is continue to preach . . . and hopefully we get some improvement.”