The Oakdale High School girls volleyball team is showing a lot of potential this season. They’ve been having a good season with their determination and confidence growing every day. 

The team is very smart and determined which has contributed to their success. Junior Molly Stevenson says, “We aren’t a very tall team, but we make up for that by being smart about where we place the ball, whether it’s serving, hitting or tipping.” 

Their good serving and passing is most likely due to how much they practice these skills. Specifically, serving and serve receiving have been some of the team’s main priorities in practice.

“How well we do in serving and serve receive really dictates how the whole game goes, so it’s a good thing to practice,” states Stevenson. 

Senior Rhian Evans adds, “That’s pretty much all the game comes down to, you can’t serve, you can’t receive, you’re not gonna win.” 

One thing the team seems to struggle with is confidence, but they are getting more self-assured the more they practice and play. This, Evans says, is “a game changer in Volleyball.”

One of the team’s best games they played so far this season, which boosted their confidence, was against Middletown. They won the first two sets, making a comeback in the second set after being down fifteen to three. Then they went down two points in the third and fourth making it even. The team came back and won the tight fifth set and the game as well.

This is a good demonstration of their perseverance which is one of the team’s many strong suits. Evans comments, “It was just a really satisfying win.” 

This game is one of the team’s four wins this season, their overall record being four and six. Although they aren’t above .500, their record does not reflect how well they’re playing, considering they’ve played a lot of close and difficult games.

The team plays hard every game and is good about moving on after close losses which contributes to their positive attitudes. “We’re upset we lost but… we don’t feel upset because we know we played well,” Evans expresses.

One of their highly anticipated games was against North Hagerstown. Oakdale lost to them twice last year, but they believed they had a good chance to win this year (unfortunately the did not), especially since it is a home game this time. Stevenson comments, “They are a strong team, and will probably (be) the toughest competition, so I’m looking forward to see how that game goes.”

Another game the team is excited for is their senior night against Frederick High School. The game is on Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 6:45 at Oakdale. Make sure to come show your support for their six seniors!