Senior Night. left to right: Ruby Park ’23, Anna Bluestone ’23, Harlow Lehman-Rhoads ’23
The Sequoyah Girls’ Volleyball season came to an end on October 14th, 2022, with the last two games–which included Senior Night–played against the Pasadena Waldorf School and New Covenant Academy.
Although the Sequoyah volleyball team had a rocky start to their season, Senior Night helped shape the team’s mindset and perspective, particularly for the last two games. While the team didn’t win a game this season, they came close during Senior Night. The team came in with positive energy because there were lower stakes and less at risk. In the end, they all just wanted to have fun and help the seniors end volleyball at Sequoyah on a good note.
Of course, Senior Night was bittersweet because the team only had two more games and it was the seniors’ last year. Their last two games were much better than the previous ones because everyone came with the much-needed hustle. As Amy Guzman ’24 noted, they “have had a lot of improvement compared to other games. Senior Night game everyone hustled and the energy was there.”
At the beginning of the season, there was much more pressure, and since the team wasn’t winning, there wasn’t much positive energy. Rachel Youngstrom ’26, another player on the team, was asked what she was looking forward to after the end of the season and she responded: “I’m definitely looking forward to the extra free time because volleyball is a huge commitment. Hopefully, volleyball will start in the summer next year so we have more practice.” Volleyball takes up a large amount of time and the team often had to leave part-way through Z-Block when they had a game. Starting in summer, when people have more free time, would be helpful since many of the teams the Gryphons played against this year had extra practice and time to warm up over the summer.
On Senior Night, there was much less stress than in previous games because everyone realized they needed to cherish the experience. That being said, the players were definitely not lazy on the court. The less stress they had on them, the more freely they could play, and they definitely performed much better than in previous games. The team put their all into the last two games, knowing that there was nothing to lose. This ended up positively affecting them and helped them play better. Coach Brian Knigin, Sequoyah’s athletic director said of Senior Night “It was an incredible experience to watch our seniors battle so hard. The match was super competitive and the team played with great effort and enthusiasm.” This proves how much the team used the game as a way to end off the season by being grateful for what they managed to do together rather than wishing things had gone differently. Guzman voiced this perspective, noting, “we have felt really discouraged the past few games because of the losses. So for the last game the team had the mindset of putting our all into it, and it really showed that everyone tried, and that’s all that’s important even if we didn’t win.” This turned out to be a valuable life lesson that they will remember forever.
Now that the volleyball season is over, it seems to have been a positive experience for the team. As Knigin said, “I believe a highlight of the year was the closeness and togetherness of the team. No matter the situation they always supported each other and were positive. They also showed great sportsmanship in all matches and treated the opposing team and officials with respect and kindness.”
Senior Night helped give the team the credit that they deserved, and the overall experience this year was great for them. This season brought the team members closer together, from the patchy moments all the way to winning sets. They are grateful to have had a meaningful season, winning or not. Appreciation towards the Girls’ Volleyball team and all their hard work!
