On Oct. 18, the varsity girls’ volleyball team had their season come to an end in the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division V playoffs. Their opponent, the Patriots of Viewpoint School, had no trouble defeating the Dragons and advancing to the next stage of the postseason. Viewpoint dominated the game, winning all three sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-17).

Foothill finishes their 2018 season sporting a 13-11 overall record. Their 6-2 league record placed them second in the Tri-Valley League, trailing only league champions Grace Brethren (7-1).

GVB: @FoothillTech loses 0-3 to Viewpoint tonight! Good Season Dragons!

— FTHS Athletics (@fths_athletics) October 19, 2018

There will be three departing seniors from this year’s varsity squad: Haley Higgins ‘19, Lexi Malone ‘19 and Morgan Stevenson ‘19.

Following her final game as a Dragon, Higgins said she was “proud” to see the growth that her team underwent.

“Being a younger team, we had to work out a lot of minor things like playing cohesively and trusting each other on the court and I really think by the end of the season we were a much tighter team which made games easier and more fun,” Higgins said. “We didn’t have any specific preseason goals in terms of accomplishments but our common theme of every practice was to work on gelling as a team in order to play well together […] and I think that we really did that by the end.”

Meanwhile, Malone said that her last season with Foothill’s program was a “refresher” and that she is “extremely proud” of the progress of the team as a whole.

“[This season] reminded me why I play volleyball in the first place: to have fun,” she said. “I played with the same girls for three years and this year was completely different because of the new lineup so it was fun to compare. We were a young team so I can’t wait to watch them play in a year and see how they grow and develop.”

With the majority of their core players returning for the 2019 season, the Dragons’ future appears to be bright. Sophomores Lexi Donnely ‘21, Averi Carter ‘21, Macy Weaver ‘21, Fae Armstrong ‘21 and Dylan Mullaney ‘21 all were on the varsity roster at some point during the season, while the rest of the varsity squad is comprised of juniors.

As a four-year player for the Foothill girls’ volleyball program, Malone emphasized that she cherishes many things, but she will “miss the girls the most.”

“Some of those girls I will have friendships with for a lifetime,” she said. “I love them all and like I said, I can’t wait to see how they grow and change—not only as volleyball players but as [people] as well.”