As of Oct. 16, Aliso Niguel’s Girls Volleyball team has officially finished up league and is on their way to compete in the California Interscholastic Federation next week. The team ended off league with a strong victory over Dana Hills High School in an away game that resulted in a 3-0 win for the Wolverines and second place in the South Coast League.
Prior to this victory, the girls volleyball team also took time to step away and play in the insanely competitive Redondo Union Girls Volleyball tournament. The players got the opportunity to go up against some of the top teams in the state and ultimately finished the tournament in sixth place.
They then returned to the courts on Oct. 8 for their last league home match. The team dominated San Clemente High School with a final score of 3-0. Friends and family came to support the team and to participate in raffles and prizes as a part of their breast cancer awareness event: Dig Pink.
Despite these two victories under their belt, the girls lost to San Juan Hills in a ruthless match on Oct. 10. This away game resulted in a close final score of 3-2.
Team captain and libero, Macey Smith (12), stated, “we lost a game we didn’t want to, but we still fought hard.”
With that said, the team wrapped up league with a final record of five wins and three losses. The players defeated notable teams and had massive wins against schools that include Trabuco Hills, San Clemente and San Juan Hills during league.
The girls volleyball team also currently holds an overall record of 20 wins and nine losses. This impressive score was enough for the team to advance and now they will be competing in CIF.
According to Smith, “this season went pretty good… I’m looking forward to CIF and competing one last time with my best friends.”
Another valuable asset to the team, Nadia Taraman (12), shared, “we worked hard at every game and gave it our all… I’m looking forward to hopefully a long CIF season” when reflecting upon the 2024 season.
The girls volleyball team has a history of success as they’ve won the title of CIF champions before in 2014 and 2021 while also achieving the milestone of becoming a CIF finalist in 2022. But as this current season continues on, Head Coach Danet is leading and preparing the team for what’s to come in CIF. The team is currently putting in lots of effort and hard work in their long practices on Aliso Niguel’s courts to hopefully secure some wins in CIF.
In the meantime, it’s too soon to tell what the rest of the year holds for these volleyball athletes, but nonetheless, family and friends continue to fill up Aliso Niguel’s student section. The gym’s bleachers are packed and rallied up by Aliso’s ASB, Wally the Wolverine and Loud Crowd, ready to proudly and loudly cheer on the girls volleyball team.
