Girls’ volleyball qualified for CIF IV after its home win against Woodbridge High on Oct. 10, making school history.
Having faced many close games and difficult opponents together, the team’s CIF qualification is attributed to a culmination of their efforts over the years, according to head girls’ volleyball coach Heidi Martasian.
“This group has pretty much been together for the last two years,” Martasian said. “With the experience of last year coming into this season, I think they knew that what they were capable of achieving and had a lot more experience with some of these tough games. That’s really helped catapult our successes this season.”
A large part of the team’s success can also be accredited to their energy on the court, according to setter and sophomore Jane Park. In addition, the team has recently implemented a new offensive strategy that better utilizes the strengths of each player.
“We have a different rotation this year, which has been working really well,” Park said. “It’s been helpful on the court, and we don’t have to play defense all the time. But now that we’re in CIF, we’re gonna work on our defense too and keeping energy high.”
After qualifying for CIF, the team has changed up their practices with more games and activities to help motivate players, according to Park. For example, to practice under pressure, Park said the team played while other Portola High sports teams were instructed to yell at the athletes during a practice game. The team had to transform the energy into their own benefit during this activity, according to Park.
“We’ve been doing drills that aren’t as serious,” setter, defense specialist and junior Jojo Liu said. “Like funny, fun mini games to remind ourselves that volleyball is meant to be fun and take some weight off of our shoulders so we can play better and not feel as tense.”
Over the season, the team has consistently faced other teams with stronger statistics such as the serve receive rating. To prepare for CIF, the team has done more preparation and research on their opponents, according to Martasian.
“Once we found out our opponent, we started scouting right away to figure out that team’s strengths and weaknesses,” Martasian said. “We definitely have paid a lot more attention to detail against some of our league opponents as well, just to put us in a good spot to make CIF.”
The team lost their first round of CIF against Glendale High on Oct. 24.
“This is the winningest team that we’ve had, just making it CIF [I’m] so proud of that,” Martasian said. “Even just as individuals, every girl has done so much to contribute to a successful team. It really has been a big team effort, and I’m so proud of just how the girls connect with each other.”
