The Freedom High School volleyball team had their first official game at Ambridge Area High School on Sept. 2. “It should be a fun season to start,” Coach Kristen Ames said. Freedom’s JV division started out, scoring almost instantly with the first spike.

Despite Freedom Volleyball Team’s efforts, Ambridge continued to hold a lead. When the JV game had ended, Ambridge had won both games. The girls were cheering they were ready for the Varsity games. Those also followed. The scores were closer than their previous loss, however.

“We had five days of practice and that showed. We could have done better if it wasn’t for our nerves,” Freshman Tayonna North said. Despite the loss, Tayonna was still positive. “I believe we will win our next game.”

The girls played their first home game on Sept. 4 against Lincoln Park. The girls played the JV match first and lost both games. When the Varsity division started up, Freedom took back the court with two wins in a row. Lincoln Park fought back, winning the next two games and leaving the match tied up. The final game decided the victory, and Freedom took the court by a close two point lead (17-14).

Sept. 9 the team played against Quaker Valley. For the first set of the game, the girls continued to work together and communicate on the court.

“They [The team] just need communication big time,” Sophomore Mackenzie Moldovan said. “I think they did fairly well and I give them all the credit in the world for playing with new girls who’ve never played [before], and even a new team altogether. Hopefully they have winning a season.” The score was 25-5 Quaker Valley.

On the second set, the girls focused on what they were doing. The score was 25-7 Quaker Valley. The score never mattered to the girls, they kept on playing the same way as they first started out.

“It was an honor to be on varsity my sophomore year”, Moldovan said. “[and] after finding out I was on varsity, I also found out that I was co-captain of the varsity team along with my captain, Kaylea Aspiotes. It’s an honor to be on varsity and I hope we will have a winning season.” They were always ready to dive and chase after the ball. This team showed effort during both games. The score of the first game was 25-9 and the second was 25-8.

On Sept. 20 the girls attended the MAC tournament that was being held at Lincoln Park. The girl’s first game was against New Castle, and the girls started with the lead. The match continued to be a point for point game, and they ended up winning the game with a score of 25-19.

“They’ve really been spiking hard today.” Ralph Hall, an administrator that frequently travels with athletic teams, said. Next, Freedom played Aliquippa. The girls also won this came with a score of 25-7. The next match against Lincoln Park was a loss as well as the game played against Cornell. This game secured a spot in the finals for Freedom. Even though, Freedom lost to Laurel, the team took fourth place out of 15 teams that had attended the tournament.