Volleyball Ready for Repeat

Girls’ volleyball is set to make another North Coast Section title run, with their first game on September 22 against Miramonte at home.

According to head coach John Vuong, with 18 veteran players, this year’s varsity team expects to continue where last year’s squad left off.

“Campo volleyball has a tradition of excellence, and we want to do well this year,”said senior Kirsten Sibley. Sibley missed out on last season’s post season with a concussion.

Sophomore Vanessa Vaisnor thinks the 2015 team has the chemistry required for another winning season. “As long as the team tries hard and gives one hundred percent, I think we’ll do great. Our team works really well together, we clicked right away.”

Being one of the only sophomores on the team, Vaisnor said that the upperclassmen are role models for her, and that age doesn’t matter when they’re on the court: “The older girls are always supportive and give great advice – there’s a mutual respect.”

Vuong expects his veteran players to step up and “lead the pack.”

As for preparing for the upcoming season, Vuong and his players agree that it’s physically demanding. “It’s definitely more intense and time-consuming than JV,” Vaisnor said, who played for the junior varsity team in 2014.

The girls spend 30-45 minutes every practice conditioning, which includes ladder work, squats and agility drills.

The team also enlisted a sports psychologist, which is a new feature for this season. Joseph “Joe” Velez meets with the team and with individual athletes, focusing on team goals and bonding with one another. Vaisnor describes him as having “an unbiased point of view, looking in and telling us what he sees and what we should work on mentally.”

Vuong also wants the girls to focus on staying healthy, especially after Sibley’s concussion last year.

Key losses from last season’s roster includes Kelley Wirth, the 2014 North Coast Section Player of the Year, who now plays for Yale. Sibley said Wirth was a good friend and will be missed, but with every graduating class, there’s a new set of girls stepping up to take their place.

“If the girls give it their all, it’s going to be a fun season,” Vuong added.