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With back-to-back league wins in games against Kirby and Chartwell High Schools, the Anzar High School girls volleyball team is showing promise this year.
However, head coach Cameron Sloma said the players are still finding their footing after the “brutal” loss of four graduating seniors, which cost the team two of its preseason games.
“We have been working hard,” she said, “putting ourselves out there, picking up balls, and it has been really fun to watch. They’ve gone out and had a good time, and that’s all I can ask them to do.”
One of the more dependable and successful sports teams at the small school, the girls took first place in the Pacific Coast Athletic League during the 2022-23 season and third place in 2023-24.
“The girls are kind of warming up,” Athletic Director Rance Hodge said, “so they’re just starting to get in their groove. It’s a great team and I think we’ll stay very competitive in volleyball this year.”
If the team can keep its momentum, Hodge’s prediction may very well come true. The Anzar Hawks won their Sept. 3 match against Chartwell in three straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-12). They repeated the pattern on Sept. 9 against Kirby High School, again winning in three sets (25-12, 25-11, 25-12).
Senior Shelby Freeman said she was pleased with the outcome of the Kirby game, but thought there was room for improvement.
“Overall,” she said, “we did what we’re supposed to do. We made plays, got bump sets and hits. But I think we played a really slow-paced game. We really need to get it going quicker and just keep our energy throughout the game.”
The pace of the game was also a matter of frustration to Sloma, who said that while the first set came out well, the entire game “seemed to take forever.”
“They were making some really good plays,” she said. “My setter was setting really nicely, but the serving was a little rough in the third. The front row is a little apprehensive, but they are all coming in with a good attitude and working hard.”
This is Sloma’s second year as coach for the girls’ team, and she might be the best match possible given that only two years ago, as an Anzar senior, she was a member of the 2022-23 championship team.
“I think we just had a really good rapport as a team on the court,” she said. “Rance was our coach, and it was so much fun to play. And it’s great to be able to work with him now as we build this team.”
Taking on the girls’ team just months after graduating last year, Sloma found herself in the odd position of having to coach some of the players who, just a year before, had been her teammates.
“It was interesting for me,” she said. “It was, ‘I went to high school with you, you know me as a student, and now I’m coming in as a coach.’ I had things they had to follow, and I couldn’t just be a friend. It was a little difficult to balance that.”
Player Zoe Martinez said that she has seen a lot of improvement in the team since joining the varsity last year, though she said that the team needs to communicate better. However, Martinez said there is a strong bond between the players and she is optimistic about the season.
“We might win or we might lose some,” she said, “but we will learn from the games we lose and become better through working on our weaknesses and practicing . And I think we will be able to beat the other teams.”
Hodge was similarly optimistic about the boys’ eight-player football team, which is up to 15 in the squad at the start of the season, pending eligibility requirements late this month.
“We are really building the squad,” he said. “We’ve revamped our league, so there may be an opportunity for us to do really well this season. I am looking forward to seeing the boys really succeed.”
Related story
Anzar Hawks girls’ volleyball undefeated through 8 games
Zoe Martinez and Shelby Freeman. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High Girls Volleyball team huddles. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High (in white) vs. Kirby High. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High,. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Anzar High vs. Kirby High. Photo by Robert Eliason.
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