The Niles West varsity girls volleyball team recently completed their quarantine Wednesday, April 14. With the quarantine lifted, the girls who signed up for hybrid learning were allowed to return to in-person. Unfortunately, some girls missed the SAT exam scheduled on April 13 due to the quarantine as well.

“Since we were in quarantine during the SAT, we are going to take it on the makeup date, April 27,” said junior Jessica Palmer. “It actually gave me more time to study and prepare for it.”

Without the quarantine that prevented the girls from competing in four conference games, the girls’ season from the start left them with very little game and preparation time. The girls were down to a few contact days before the start of the season, and they had only a week before their first game.

However, according to senior Julia Pansait, “knowing it was a short season forced everyone to give it their all at every practice and game. Everyone comes in ready to work and put in the extra effort, whether they’re pressing over the block each time or diving for every ball. It’s inspiring to see the work ethic and the passion everyone in the team has for the game.”

Coming back, the girls didn’t give their opponents a chance to take the lead by winning four consecutive games. And with their season cut short, they will have a minimum of three games a week to make up for the lost time.

Usually, in a regular season, the girls set goals for what they want to achieve. Without a post-season this year, however, the girls’ main goal is to win the conference.

With that goal in mind, according to senior Magdalena Soldo, “I feel like it’s very important to take it one day at a time and play like it’s your last game or practice, especially with the unpredictability of this year. The passion and love for the game are really evident right now.”

For the third week of April, the girls will play on the 22nd and the 23rd. The game on Thursday, April 22, will be an away game at Evanston at 5 pm.