September 8, 2022 marks the day that the Neumann Celtics and the Bonita Bullsharks, went head to head on the volleyball court in their varsity match.

The game itself was one of the more hopeful games that the volleyball team had. The team seemed to be confident that they could hold their own on the court and take them down. Following are some insights on the game, shared by team members.

What are Your Expectations Going into the Game?

Shanie Sedio: Hopefully our team has high energy, and we’re able to work together tonight.

Are There any Pre-Game Rituals Done as a Team?

Taylor Chatigny, pin hitter: We normally warm up together and sometimes do general warmups such as stretches, dances, or sharing handshakes.

Can You Give me an Inside Rundown on the Game?

Alysson Jaen, outside player: We started off the first set really well, 25-17. We were very communicative, and then second set. We slipped up and Bonita took a huge lead, beating us 18-25. Third set was better, even though we were put back to beach with each other, we pulled it together in the end. We got our rhythm back and our middle blocker, Sophia McCartney, got a huge block that brought us back. Fourth set I don’t really remember much but it was basically a 3 point lead the whole game. We had trouble with our mistakes but we were able to win with our serves and aces. The outside players, Alex and I, got 10+ kills and Sophia McCartney, our middle blocker, got 5 blocks off on them. We were able to win the match with a score of 3-1.

The team was more or less relieved to have won the match and left with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that they were able to overcome the mistakes they made and win as a team.

Team Manager Weighs in:

Elise Flannery, team manager: I’m proud of our hitters for being able to adjust to the set and make kills, which is an improvement from previous games. We do need to improve on our communication and fighting for each point though.

Comments Post Match

Alysson Jaen, outside player: I feel like we could have played a lot better than we did, even though we had a lot of digs and kills we still had multiple errors on our side that we couldn’t eliminate. We really need to work on communicating more and getting out of our heads when we are high on errors.

Coach Comments on Team Performance

Tito Martinez says this about their performance: We are in the process of rebuilding a culture in the volleyball program. As we had a great performance against Bonita, we continue to strive for growth in our physical and mental development of the game. I am excited for the future of our SJN volleyball program.

Our team is going to be a tough contender that other schools in this district better watch out for this season.

Let’s go Celtics!