With the start of the girls’ volleyball team’s season rapidly approaching, the team is working hard to be in top form as rising stars and returning veterans fight together for another season.

The team features new varsity players sophomores Elisa Hussey, Stella Lichter and Ariel Mazor. All three girls played on last year’s junior varsity team and moved up to varsity following the departure of last year’s five seniors. Also new to the team are juniors Maya Zutshi and Aryana Lausten.

“I’m expecting to see more wins in our future. The team meshes well together, and we have a connection that really helps us score points on the court,” sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist Claire Kuemmerle said.

Kuemmerle, along with outside hitter Sasha Ormiston and setter Sofia Siberfield, was one of three freshmen who started on varsity last year.

Last season, the team went 4-10 in the regular season, ending with a first round loss to Whitman in the playoffs. However, this year, the team is looking to improve upon their record. Throughout the off-season the team has been working in the weight room and doing “game-like drills” to get into form before the season.

In a promising omen, the team won a scrimmage against Blair on September 2 4-0 (normal matches are played as best of five sets but the preseason scrimmage was instead played as four sets total).

“The season has been going very well, we’ve had a few scrimmages to practice our lineups and improve our communication,” senior and opposite hitter Wendy Liu said.

Liu, who is one of the captains of the team, made last year’s MCPS all-county second team.

Other players on the team echoed the optimistic sentiment prior to the start of the season.

“We’ve had a great preseason, so our expectations are high […] every time we step on the court, we’re playing to win,” Siberfield said.

The team’s first game will be Wednesday, Sept. 7, away at Magruder HS at 6:30 p.m. and will open at home on Sept 13 against Kennedy HS.