After years of strong performances in the Prep League, the Poly’s girls varsity volleyball team has started the year off with a 9–7 overall record and a 2–3 mark in league play. For a team accustomed to success, this year’s crew has found itself in unfamiliar territory early this season.
While injuries are ubiquitous on any sports team, this season, they have become a continuous pattern.
Among those setbacks was sophomore libero/defensive specialist Charlotte Wang’s ankle injury in a non-league match against Arcadia on August 13, one of several challenges that have tested the team’s resilience. With much of the season still ahead, the Panthers are looking to regain their rhythm and return to the form that has defined the program in recent years.
From quad and tricep strains, to ankle, finger and back injuries, the team has consistently had three to five girls unable to be on court and play at all times.
Head Coach Katrina Damasco-Dicipulo spoke to the difficulties of injuries when planning for the team: “I don’t have my solid starters yet, and so we’re still trying to find our pieces, we’re still trying to figure out who can go where and I think that’s tough, because again, by this time of the season we’ve [typically] found a rhythm, and we haven’t yet.”
Five of their fourteen players have been injured this season, forcing many players out of their comfort zones and occasionally requiring them to change positions. While Wang would normally not be in such close proximity to the net or have the opportunity to jump up and block, she stepped in to play as an outside hitter because of the lack of hitters.
Junior Captain and libero/defensive specialist Keira Kim said, “We’re definitely learning how to be more like scrappy defensively, and that has played into our favor.”
During their Sept. 1 match against Westridge, the Panthers pushed through to all five sets, and while it ultimately resulted in a 3-2 win, the success was hard-earned, requiring true determination and a collective fight through the match.
Damasco-Dicipulo proudly spoke of that particular game: “The way that we came together in that situation, like I said, I think this team is so special and so unique in the way that they bonded and their closeness. And I think that’s kind of, like, our superpower this year.”
Despite every injury the Panthers have faced this season, what has become clearly apparent is their unwavering resilience and trust for one another no matter what’s thrown their way.
Sophomore middle and right-side hitter Hannah Arrieta reflected, “I really just, like, couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to, you know, put their best foot forward and, you know, just stay present in the moment.”
