Roseville Girls Volleyball (RVB) finished its successful season on Thursday, November 2nd. The team “took on Stillwater at their home court in an intense five-set match, where Stillwater pulled ahead to win,” according to senior captain Addie Hansen. She shared that it “was a very tough loss, but Stillwater really played a great match.”
Before playing Stillwater in section finals, RVB won two matches in the section tournament. Hansen shared, “Our first round section play was versus Irondale, beating them in three sets. Semi-finals were on Halloween versus Mounds View, a four-set match that we won.”
Volleyball games are played in sets, and the team that wins the most sets out of five wins the game. At the section championship, Roseville won the first two sets and very narrowly lost the next three, ending their season and sending Stillwater to the state tournament. Despite their season ending in a loss, they got second place in the tournament, which is not a small feat.
Although their performance at the section tournament was a season highlight, it is far from the only success that the varsity team experienced. They finished the season with 19 wins and 10 losses.
Senior Ava Koch pointed to less measurable ways in which the team was successful, including team chemistry and bonding. She mentioned that “something that went well was our energy. Being on the bench, people would usually think it would be very boring, but this team made it fun, the cheers we did and the smiles we had made everything worth it.”
Similarly, Hansen highlighted the team atmosphere, recalling that “before the section final, one of my co-captains, Kadence Davidson, led us through a guided meditation in order to help us lock in for the match.”
Another highlight shared by Eighth Grader Samantha Bloomquist was that “in the locker rooms before games, everyone gets hype, and it’s an amazing environment to be in.”
A good environment is very important to the success of the team, but that’s not the only reason that RVB found success this year. On the path to winning second place in the section, RVB experienced many difficulties and losses. Hansen recalled a tournament game earlier in the season against Nevis, a high school in northern Minnesota. RVB lost the game, and Hansen referred to it as “one of the lower moments for the team.”
However, the team used this loss as a springboard to greater things. Hansen said that this loss was a crucial learning moment, “forcing RVB to respond positively going into sections.”
Graduating seniors have a lot to miss about RVB. Both Koch and Hansen will miss the family-like feeling of the team. Hansen commented that she is “going to miss seeing all of my wonderful teammates at practice every day. I truly loved going to practice with this team.”
