[ot-caption title=”The PC Girls’ Volleyball Team is off to an amazing start to the season (via Brittany Shore, junior)”]

The Pine Crest Panthers Girls Volleyball Team has been working extraordinarily hard since the start of the new season. Last year, the volleyball team had an outstanding record of 23-9 and made it to the State Championship Tournament, with a difficult three-set loss in the finals. The girls began their practices during July, right before school started, and have been improving ever since, aiming to avenge that tough loss last year and earn a championship.

It is  Albert Sturgeon’s fifth season as varsity head coach. He has high expectations for the team and is excited about the program, stating, “Everyone in the program, including players, coaches, administration and staff, all have worked extremely hard to get us where we are today. I’m proud of the development of our freshmen and how the chemistry is working within the team. We will continue to show pride in wearing the PC colors and hope for another eventful season.”

This year’s captains, Senior Sara Duque and Junior Kylie Bruder, are doing a great job leading the team so far. Although the season has just commenced, the team already has an impressive undefeated 5-0 record. The team must fill the shoes of few key players who graduated last year, former Seniors Sara Shmueli, Lauren Houle, and Sydney Vreeland. This year’s team has three freshmen who have really stepped up to the plate. Cassidy Robertson, Carly Blake, and Arielle Ghiloni, all in the Class of 2019, have risen to the challenge, playing well beyond their ages. Juniors Alyssa Dern and Blake Kushner have improved tremendously as well, now playing varsity after performing well on JV last year.

Senior Caitlin Harvey, a right side hitter on the team, says, “We’re undefeated which is a really strong start to the season. We’re working really hard and taking one game at a time to hopefully make it back to where we were last year.” The entire team has high hopes of achieving the same amazing feat as last season.

The Lady Panthers traveling to Tampa on September 19th to play in their first tournament of the season. The Panthers will be playing St. Thomas Aquinas, sure to be an exciting game to watch. On Thursday, September 10, the team faced Pompano Beach High School, winning to continue the remarkable undefeated streak. Make sure to come out and support your Lady Panthers!