This week is the Sharks girls volleyball team’s first postseason appearance since 2022
The Malibu High Sharks girls volleyball team snagged one of their best wins of the season on their “Think Pink Night.” The team raised money to support the fight against breast cancer and defeated Carpinteria in four sets.
The Sharks will attempt to grab another big win on Thursday. The team travels to Victorville to play the Victor Valley Jackrabbits in the first round of the CIF playoffs.
Malibu head coach Derek Saenz said the Sharks’ chances of winning the matchup depend on their ability to pass and serve.
“We have to maintain composure long enough to put them away,” he said.
The coach added that several players from Malibu’s talented junior varsity team will make the two-hour trek to Victorville with the varsity squad.
Autumn Taylor, a senior middle blocker for the Sharks, said making the playoffs is exciting.
“We have to be assertive and be aggressive,” she said. “Now that we are in CIF, we have to work together.”
The postseason matchup falls over a week after Malibu closed its regular season with a Senior Night loss to Channel Islands.
Malibu senior outside hitter Mia Thomas said the evening was memorable despite the loss.
“Its been really fun,” she said describing her four years on the team. “Senior Night was really nice and fun because everyone was really appreciating us. I’m loving my senior year so far, especially with volleyball.”
Taylor, Thomas, and their classmates Tyler Claire and Avery Greco were honored at the match. The girls were given bouquets and posed for pictures with friends and family members. There was also a display that featured pictures of the girls.
Thomas said the 12th-graders are close.
“We all get along really, really well,” she said. “We love each other.”
Taylor said seeing seniors leave the past two seasons was sad and realizing this season would be her last was a bitnerve-racking.
“It was exciting though,” she said.
Malibu qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth in the seven-team Citrus Coast League. Their 3-1 victory over Carpinteria on Oct. 1’s “Think Pink Night” was one of their league wins.
That evening, the Malibu High gym was packed and full of pink — from the ribbons adorning a display in the gym to the socks and jerseys the Sharks wore on the court.
Sharks parents donated to a raffle which resulted in $2,000 donated to the Susan G. Komen’s crusade against breast cancer.
Saenz said the night was important because almost everyone knows someone effected by breast cancer.
“Culturally, volleyball has been known for the full experience of a student athlete,” he said. “Activities like this show you how you get involved. This how you build future leaders.”
Taylor said the match was fun.
“A whole bunch of people were in the stands and they got really into the game,” she said. “We worked really hard.”
Taylor had two kills and five aces in the match, while Thomas smacked the ball for nine kills and seven aces.
Junior outside hitter Reghan Marlow had 13 kills, two aces, and five digs. Piper Smith had two kills, and Lulu Good tallied 22 assists, five digs, five aces, and two kills.
Malibu defeated Carpinteria twice this season and also recorded wins over Santa Paula and Fillmore.
This week is the Sharks girls volleyball team’s first postseason appearance since 2022. That season they downed Coast Union in the opening round and fell to California Lutheran in the next.
Taylor said the season has been fun.
“We have put in a whole bunch of work the last couple of months and over the summer,” she said.
