Blocking the way to their first league victory, the Diamond Bar High School girls volleyball starts the season off with a loss, but is regaining their footing in the league.
The Brahmas are 5-2 in the Hacienda League and 16-8 overall. Starting their season, the team suffered a 2-3 set loss against Walnut High School. After fixing their previous mistakes, they went on to consecutively sweep against their opponents, Rowland, Los Altos and Wilson.
“Despite losing, it was one of the best matches of the season. It was a high level of volleyball played by both teams,” head coach Rebecca Bevans said. “Normally these kinds of statistics are what you see when a team wins. It really could have gone either way.”
As a team, their kill percentage was .375 and their hitting percentage was .281. They also had 72 digs, identifying they played a strong defense against Walnut.
Senior and three-year varsity member, middle blocker Jaeda Whitmire, ranked 14th overall in the state and second best hitter in the CIF division, is a rising star this season.
She leads the team with 150 kills and a hitting percentage of .396, greatly contributing to the team’s victories so far.
“Our first game against Walnut was nerve wracking but I was also excited to play them,” senior setter Isabella Ross said. “Overall I had fun and even though the loss was disappointing, we played really well and it definitely wasn’t easy for them.”
The team put up a strong defense against Walnut, battling for two hours in a close match. The players are focusing on reducing unforced errors to propel them through the second half of the league competition.
“At the varsity level you can’t afford to give teams ‘free’ points on unforced errors,” Bevans said. “We have really focused on making teams earn their points on their winners and not on our errors.”
The players look forward to facing off against teams they’ve lost to in the past.
Learning from their mistakes, they hope to further improve themselves and their skills.
“I’ve faced a lot of challenges with mentality and getting over mistakes. I used to let mistakes bother me a lot but now I understand that it’s part of the game and every mistake I make only leads to further growth,” Ross said. “Being with my team also helps because we hold each other accountable and I know I can rely on them when I’m feeling down.”
