The Diamond Bar High School’s volleyball team ended its season when  they lost to Tustin High School 3-0 in the first round of CIF playoffs on Oct. 24.

Considering the team entered the season after losing a majority of their preseason games, the Brahmas surprised many by qualifying for  CIF on a wildcard after ending their run in the Mt. Baldy League with a 7-3 record. One of the team’s rivals was Don Lugo, who beat them 3-0 to secure  second place in the league.

“We wanted to go further, but we weren’t  our best at the end,” sophomore Sydney Humphrey said. “We played our hardest in the game so that is what really matters.”

Humphrey said that along with  making it to the first round of CIF, the teammates forming closer bonds with each other was  an accomplishment in itself.

At the beginning of the season, the team found it hard to communicate on the court, and they were lacking the team chemistry needed to win games.

“One of my team goals is just to have a better start and a better preseason…I’m not saying just to win but to be closer in points to the other teams, have a better preseason and just start off as a team better,” Humphrey said.

 Except for senior Faith Vasquez, everyone on this year’s varsity had played  junior varsity last year and were not used to playing up to five sets.“I’m positive the team will do better because they’re a strong and have mastered playing together,” Vasquez said via Instagram. “I think they’ll do amazing in league next season even if it’s against new teams.”

Throughout the course of the season, the players’ positions during games were never set in stone. For instance, Humphrey and sophomore Stephanie Molsley switched off being middle blocker even though Humphrey started the season as libero. Overall, it was common for position to be switched.

While the Brahmas had a rough start to the season, the young team views their first season on varsity as a learning experience to help them next season. They hope to improve as well as fulfill Vasquez’s expectations.

“This season was a nice start for my first year on varsity, and I feel like these next years coming up will have improvement,” Humphrey said. “Overall, it was a nice start to make it as far as we did and maybe next year we can push further.”