Despite the energetic roar of the student section and enthusiasm on the court on Aug. 28, 2025, the result was unexpected for the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls volleyball team. On account of optimistic mindsets, you wouldn’t have been able to gauge the outcome of the match based off the mood of the team.
Even with the 1-3 loss against Villanova Preparatory School (Villanova) that normally would gut a team’s confidence, it served only as a reminder for the spirited Dragons that a full season of volleyball waits ahead of them. One loss serves as a small obstacle for the Dragons to learn from.
“We were playing smart, and then some of our weaknesses and bad habits started creeping through. I feel like games like this are good opportunities to figure out what our next week of practices are going to look like,” Coach Adell Oliveras said.
Foothill Tech came out playing with intensity. The Dragons had their fair share of aces, digs and kills throughout the first set, eventually coming to an end with a double block from Fiona Aulenta ‘26 and Maya Adams ‘28, along with a kill by Samantha Jacobson ‘26.
Lilac Reyes ‘26 described the first set, stating, “Our passes were great, and it was just finishing the ball with our hits [that we need to work on]. I think the hitters did what they needed to.”
The following three sets of the game did not go as planned for the Dragons. Near the beginning of the second set, Foothill Tech faced an early margin that carried on throughout the game.
At the beginning of the third set, the scores were all tied at 13 points, giving Foothill Tech room to succeed Villanova. However, Villanova then went on a dominant nine-point run. The set was eventually closed out by Villanova to set the score at 2-1.
The fourth set was similar to the third in terms of how the scores progressed and how the Dragons held their heads high. Impressive digs performed by Jacobson at the start of the set seemed to signify a turning point in the game’s momentum, but Villanova ended up on top to close out the game.
For Emily Turner ‘26, the outcome of the game always seems to be the least of her worries. Instead, she opts for an uplifting and confident approach to her game.
“[Being with your teammates] makes it more fun, and it definitely is me making the light out of hard situations for sure.” Turner said.
Like every hiccup the Dragons face along the course of the season, every member of the team tries their best to pick up and learn from each experience.
For Turner, confidence and working as a team were areas that she saw needed improvement.
“I think our girls need to just start swinging away and not being intimidated. And I think we can, as a collective, work a lot harder to pick up tips and just help each other out more,” Reyes said.
For Oliveras, there were more technical, moving parts of the game that she saw= needed improvement.
“Our overpasses — when we would give it to the other team, and they snatched it on us. Any time that we hit and then got blocked, we gotta work on our coverage and picking that back up,” Oliveras said.
Using everything they’ve learned from just one game alone, a future for the Dragons’ season shines bright.
“I just feel like this team, it’s not necessarily one person who’s the MVP, but they’re like a team of MVPs. And I think that they’ve been together for so long … they’re finally locking it in, and that’s going to be the key to this season being a lot more wins,” Oliveras said.
Foothill Tech will use their practice in their next game against Nordhoff High School on Sept. 2.
