Thursday, October 20, 2022, the volleyball girls had their senior night. Senior night for any sport is the final home game, match or meet where the seniors have the spotlight. They are also accompanied by their loved ones while they are recognized for the things that they achieved on the team and for what they plan to do in the future.

For our volleyball team specifically, the booster club and volleyball program decorate the gym for the girls, set up a dinner in the gym for them, set up a balloon arch to take pictures, and then dedicate around 10 minutes to just talking about the girls. This year’s seniors are Gabriella Rodriguez, Bianca Mackley, Cesia Salazar, Livia Robinson, Ava Lopez, and Jojo Boehme.

Also being involved in basketball and tennis, I asked Cesia how it feels to have her first senior night, and if is she a little less sad that volleyball is ending because she still has other sports to play. She said, “I mean I feel upset about it being my last home game, of course, because I’m going to miss the girls on this volleyball team, but I am very excited for my basketball and tennis season because it is a different environment with different girls.” In other words, it is bittersweet.

Although some do, not all of the girls play multiple sports here at Sahuaro. One of the girls that do not is Bianca – when asked to give her opinion about the game being just that night, she said, “Volleyball for me has always been an outlet. I can get on the court and only focus on the game. Senior night has been a night we have all looked forward to since freshman year, but now it’s here and I think we all are pretty sad but also excited to play on our court one last time together.”

Once the actual game started, the girls looked very excited to be on the court together. They scored many points in the beginning one after another, but once the excitement wore off, I think they just got a bit nervous. We lost the first set 24-26. Then we snapped back into it and won the second set 25-16.

The 3rd set is debatable depending on who you are talking to, but the final score says that we lost 23-25. Then because of the miscommunication and struggle at the end of the 3rd set, the girls were a little irritated and stopped working as well together and ended up losing the 4th set 10-25, resulting in us losing the game against Flowing Wells 1-3.

After the game, I made sure to ask Ava, “Did tonight live up to the dream of senior night for you? Why or why not?” She responded, “I would definitely say that it lived up to the dream. I felt so special and I can’t imagine having it any other way. An absolute shout out and thanks to our Booster Club moms (especially my mama) who made that night one of the most memorable ones I’ve had.”