With the spring sports season moving progressively, a rematch faced challenges from memories of last season’s battle linger. Practicing six days a week, the boy’s volleyball varsity team were eager to play against their rivals, Miami Senior High. Standing at a current record of 7-5, Gables had a prevailing pressure to come out victorious.
“I think we should just start off strong and get a good lead. I feel like our main focus for this game is for us to play together as a team, and ultimately I hope we beat our rival school. We’re just going to get on the court and try our best,” senior Javier Diaz said.
Taking place inside the gymnasium on Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m., in their positions, the game started with a whistle from the referee. With Gables having the first serve, the game started with leaps springing from both sides of the net. Getting all players to consistently through powerful close-winning shots, the game became fever-pitched as players bumped, served and set all while shouting “mine” or “I got it”. Although Miami High was in the lead, to keep spirits high, Gables huddled up and high-fived each other at every point missed or obtained, commemorating their effort instead of their wins. The first period of the game ended with a 20-8 win for Miami High.
“I hope we beat our rivaling team, Miami High has always been a tough team to beat. We’re just going to get out there, communicate with each other, stay focused and hope for the best, ” sophomore Lucas Aparicio said.
The second period was marked by the rotation of players and a loud buzz from the scoreboard. Between every period, the team huddled up with coach, Mr. Josh D’Alemberte giving feedback to get ahead of the game. As the team rotated, the benched team supported their teammates by clapping, chanting and kicking the back of the bleachers to distract the opposing team when serving. Gables played even harder to make up for their prior loss, calling for the ball whenever possible and throwing themselves on the floor to obstruct any new points for Miami High. The gym was also filled with encouraging shouts from the audience, continuing to encourage players while giving them constructive criticisms. Despite this, players agreed that spirits were low and Miami High was able to win again 18-23.
Both teams worked just as hard in the third and final period to take a final win home. The referee blew a whistle one more time, signaling the last period of the game. Continuing to put all their efforts into the game, the team got to far-reaching lengths to get the ball, jumping as high as they could to spike the other team. Still celebrating every win, big or small, the team continuously encouraged one another. Yet, Miami High won the last period with a score of 16-25.
“I’m not extremely happy with the outcome of the game, I feel like we had the ability to beat Miami High. Also, I feel that the overall energy on the court was super low, especially after we lost the first period. Due to this, bad energy was brought into the second period and the rest of the game, it definitely stopped us from playing up to our full potential,” sophomore William Hardie said.
“For the remainder of this year’s season, I think we should learn from our mistakes and learn to work as a team. I think we could benefit from not focusing on the stakes but more on just having fun and coming out with a win,” Griffin Byrd said.
Although this game did not have a favorable outcome, the boys’ volleyball team will continue to practice and reform their game strategies. With a month of matches left, the team still has a chance to create an exemplary record from previous years.
