The Piedmont High School girls volleyball team dropped a tight four-set match to visiting Berkeley on Sept. 17, 25-19, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19.
“I think it’s such a morale-booster to show that we can fight against all of these big teams,” Highlander Maika Ting said. “Berkeley has a couple of (college) commits, so playing hard for us and pushing through is super important.
“I think we’ve progressed so much in past five, six weeks. Everybody has (a lower error rate) and we’ve all just focused on bettering ourselves.”
Said Charlotte Bailey, “I think there’s always more to learn but I think the team is really jelling together. (We’re) putting in a lot of work during practice. Just the commitment for going for every ball. Especially Allyson (Huynh), our libero, she goes for everything. Execution for our hitters. And the team energy has been amazing.”
The loss was the third in a row in four sets for Piedmont (11-7). The Highlanders got off to a strong start in a pair of tournaments in the early season. However, since beating San Leandro in four on Sept. 8, it has been a learning experience for the young team.
One positive thing is that the team has been improving its offense.
“The outside is working a lot better,” Carina Vora said. “I think all the sets, we brought the same energy. Even with losses, we always stayed positive, so there’s always a chance to come back.”
Piedmont’s best match came against the Pirates. The Highlanders won, 24-26, 25-23, 25-13, 25-18. They followed that up with a 25-16, 17-25, 26-24, 25-13 loss at San Marin on Sept. 10. There was a very close five-set loss at Salesian on Sept. 3, 25-18. 18-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-12.
“We’ve been pushing a lot of five-set games,” Ting said. “So having that fight to go all the way through (is important). It’s so much fun to play on this team. Everybody’s so hyped. I love seeing the energy and the hustle we bring to everything.”
Piedmont is scheduled to host Encinal on Sept. 22. Then comes a match at Bishop O’Dowd the next night.