You hear it all the time in sports talk, “defense wins championships.” And that’s the exact mentality that the Wilcox varsity volleyball team will have if it is to improve upon last season’s .500 record in league play.
A year ago, the team was coming off a deep run into the CCS playoffs, where it lost double-digit seniors to graduation. This year, the team will have lost only four seniors from last season, but those four were a core four.
Starting setter Mia Perez-Smith, outside hitters Bianca Burke and Claire Sugrue, and defensive specialist Neda Salehi going off to college leave Wilcox with another sports cliche—big shoes to fill.
A few of those tasked with attempting to fill said shoes are sophomore defensive specialist Emma Gaba, junior setter and opposite hitter Kelsy Mock, and senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Le. Despite being just a sophomore this season, Gaba will bring with her varsity experience from last year as a freshman. With the overall squad’s lack of height and hitting experience on the outside, the keys to success will have to start with quality defensive play from Gaba and the rest of the Chargers’ back row.
“I knew it was going to be tough with the four seniors who left last year who were the cornerstones of our team,” admitted Gaba after a preseason practice. “I think we are going to do better, though, than I originally thought because a lot of our younger players are stepping up. Obviously, looking at our team, we lack a lot of height, but coach [April] Lujan always says defense wins games, so we’re focusing on ball control and defense. Our offense will come along naturally if our defense is there.”
“They can compete,” chimed Lujan on if her young squad had to play a match tomorrow.
The team’s first match isn’t until Aug. 29.
“A strong core of girls would be very solid and the others coming up from JV,” continued Lujan. “They would have a lot to learn since they haven’t played at this level yet. We wouldn’t be super structured yet, but we would be able to compete.”
Mock and Le are two of the upperclassmen who will likely be relied upon in leadership roles for the Chargers to maintain the level of competitive play that coach Lujan’s teams have demonstrated the past few seasons.
“It’s a new team, so we’re working on finding that team chemistry right now,” noted Mock on the team’s preparations. “With a little more time here to grow together, I think we will be prepared for our first match.”
“Despite the fact we have a shorter team, everyone works really hard. Everyone went to our summer workouts,” remarked a confident sounding Le. “I see everyone really improving. We work really hard in practice, finishing drills all the way through, never letting up on anything. We are really determined even though we know we have some disadvantages.”
Wilcox will look to start proving it can overcome any height disadvantage with elite defense when the team opens the season at Del Mar on Aug. 29.