In its first game of the season, the junior varsity volleyball team lost at home to Leroy Greene 2-0 on Aug. 26.

 In set one, the Cavs missed eight serves from the opposition but caught up in points as the match progressed.

Coach Aleitha Burns said she was impressed with the team’s performance despite last-minute changes to positions. Junior Sage Spradlin usually plays as the libero, or backrow specialist. In Thursday’s game, however, she was substituted in as a setter, a role for which she had not trained.

“I normally never even play for a row at all,” Spradlin said. “It was really weird being up close to the net, but I figured it out.”

Country Day held a lead in front of Leroy Greene in the first set, extending the set into a deuce. However, the players were not able to keep their streak as their opponents were able to inch out a victory with a score of 27-25 for the first set.

Burns said the team needs to improve on communication between the players.

“A goal is for consistency in our communication so that we’re not letting balls drop or battling with each other for passes,” she said.

The second set started with a service ace from Spradlin, but did not go as smoothly for the Cavs after that. Hesitation in communication with passes and receptions put the team at a 7-1 deficit, resulting in a timeout initiated by Burns.

 Country Day was able to score a few points but ultimately ended up losing the set and match. 

Despite the loss, Burns is hopeful that the team will improve as the players gain more experience because the team has many players who are new to the sport.

“We’re a young team, and some of the players have never played volleyball before, so we just need to work on our communication and our trust on the court,” Burns said. “In that first set, we missed eight serves. I would love to see that decrease.”

Sophomore middle blocker Katie Espinoza, a returning player to the team, said everyone performed well and made progress.

“We were all excited, even though a lot of us were nervous,” she said. “But overall our chemistry has gotten a lot better throughout the season.”

— By Garman Xu