Aliso’s girls volleyball season is back in session, and the team is currently dominating the courts as they finished in third place at the Tesoro Competition over the summer. They won the title of Santa Barbara Cardinal Tournament Champions, where Macey Smith (12), Gigi Green (12) and Jaslene Massey (11) were named All Tournament Athletes.
Leading the team this year is Head Coach Danet who stated that her goal for the team is to “play the same volleyball every night…sometimes we come in a different version of ourselves and our best version is very strong and super hard to compete with.”
Coach Danet commented that the Tesoro Competition was “a very tough tournament,” where the team lost to Santa Margarita, but beating Jserra which Danet said was “a very good win.” Along with beating Jserra, the team defeated Dana Hills on the way there which “was a good win for us as well.”
Coach Danet said that so far the highlight of the season was the Santa Barbara Tournament where the team “got a house and all stayed together where we had a lot of bonding and won the tournament without dropping a set!”
So far, this season has been a successful one as the team has already defeated teams like Laguna Beach, Foothill, Wildwood and many more. However, the team has already lost twice to Santa Margarita and once to Jserra.
Danet said that the team didn’t have a great match against Jserra when it came to our own gym but that she is “a big believer in those things actually helping us out, especially as we’re heading into League…we need to be able to handle those losses, learn from them and return to the drawing board to play some good volleyball.”
The team captains helping Coach Danet lead the players this year are Gigi Green and Macey Smith. Smith plays as the team’s libero and has been playing since she was eight years old and is going to continue playing in college at Southern Utah University.
Smith stated that, “It’s super fun being a team captain and getting to lead.”
Will the team be able to take home the winning title in League? Will the players finally be able to beat Santa Margarita? It’s too soon to tell, but as for now, the Den continues to fill up with supportive friends and family cheering the hardworking team on.
