After a season full of success, girls’ volleyball, 35-6, finished their season off with a loss to the hands of the Bishop Diego Cardinals, 28-8, in the first round of the CIF State Division Two Championships 3-1 this past Tuesday. 

Prior to their state run, the Gondoliers had an impressive season being named the Western League Champions after going undefeated 12-0.
“We got that league title after the win against Palisades. We played better as a team thanks to our cohesion and togetherness,” said junior Sam Lortie, a captain alongside seniors Pauline Lao and Kaylee Nakagawa. 

Lortie attributes the tight knit nature of the team to the success throughout the season.
This was thanks to the majority of the team being “returners from last year,” Lortie added.
“It was great for our big season performance because we had that connection.”

The Gondos then stepped into the LA City Open Division, sweeping Chatsworth 3-0 and then dominating Venice’s rivals, Palisades, 3-1. They were then defeated by the Taft Toreadors, 40-8, in the finals last Saturday, 3-2, at CSUN.

“That one hurt a lot, because I feel like I could taste it because we were literally winning in that last set. It was so, so close. But we couldn’t just pull through,” said Lortie. 

Coach Raul Aviles commentates on the Gondolier’s performance overall, believing that more could have been accomplished with the talent that they had. 

“When your goal and your roster and your talent says that you’re supposed to win the open division championship and you fall short of that, there aren’t many accomplishments,” he said.

Lortie highlights the strong team talent of the Gondos, with “really great efforts from everybody.” In specificity, she calls attention to fellow captain Lao for “stepping up to be our libero after being a defensive specialist.” 

She also calls attention to junior Gaia Adeseun-Williams, “an amazing outside,” alongside sophomore Kaya Richards who stepped up in senior Adelaide Groff’s place as center due to being injured. 

The team will be taking a disheartening loss of 10 seniors, but with starters being mostly underclassmen, the Gondoliers are in good hands thanks to their young talent.
“We have people both in my grade and in younger grades that are going to step up and replace them,” Lortie said. “We’re going to miss our seniors a lot, they’re awesome people and teammates.” 

With the future of the team in a strong, the Gondoliers will continue to carry on their high expectations for themselves in preparation for the next season.