The Van Arsdale Girls Volleyball Team looks forward to a competitive and successful 2018-2019 season. Good luck!
Last week, WHSAD student correspondent Jeremy Ceballos went to a practice of the Van Arsdale Cardinals girls volleyball team to get a feel for how the team is preparing for the upcoming season. Jeremy interviewed head coach Ms. Huguet and team captain Milana Baldizzi, a senior at WHSAD. Please keep an eye out for the season schedule and support your teams!
Ms.Huguet: “Our First game was amazing. Our girls came through. We started off a little sketchy. The first match was 25 to 23. The second match was in our favor 25 to 22. But in the third match, the girls really showed their talents by leaving them with 10 points. They really pulled through and got themselves together in the third match. Our biggest challenge last year was our defense. Last year we had girls who were learners, learning how to play defense. We had lots of strong hitters last year, but this year it’s been a big change; we have more defensive players and a few more hitters of whom a lot are new. Returning players are stepping up, and I’m amazed at the new talent that we do have. The only problem we faced this year so far is having a large team; other than that it’s great to have a large team and lots of girls to come out. Unfortunately I couldn’t accept them all. As far as the new girls learning they stepped up to the plate and learned all the basics skills of volleyball. Tomorrow we have a scrimmage game and it’s also a learning game. We don’t know how the other team plays, but I’m sure we’ll do well. This team is going to be very strong and I’m looking forward to seeing those who are going to be graduating and those are coming up like my juniors who are really stepping up to the plate. I’m not sure how the other team plays but I’m sure we’re going to do very well.”
Milana Baldizzi: “My role as team captain is making sure everyone’s doing what they can and learning and developing their skills and helping people out and on the court taking responsibility for my team, and making sure practices and games goes as well as they can. Last year I wasn’t a captain; this is my first year as co-captain. Problems that we faced last season were mostly communication that we were struggling with but which comes with time and practice and bonding as a team. To overcome these problems we need to practice and call the ball and do everything we can to make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and what they have to be doing. Last year was my first year, and I really stepped up and took responsibilities. I’m a fast learner, so this year I’m co-captain, and I’m just helping motivate my team. As captain, you need to step up and be confident in your skills and be confident as a leader. You can’t be shy; you need to need to show your leadership characteristics so people can listen to you, so it’s really about having a leadership quality. As a senior, who is also team captain, I’m leaving, but we already chose a captain for next year from people that really stepped up and are stepping up and becoming more mature in their game play. Definitely one of the big factors that I’m looking for in colleges besides my major is if they have a volleyball team or club team. I’m currently looking at a couple of SUNY schools but more specifically SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and the University of Buffalo.”