By John Linker
This year’s girls Greyhounds Varsity Volleyball team finished with a 7-20 record overall, fifth in their league at 3-7. But that never stopped the team from coming out and playing with a vibrancy that only high school girls volleyball can exhibit.
Melissa Casas Gatica, co-captain with middle blocker Allie Espinoza, was heralded this season for her spirited play at libero. How does a player dig and set up a 40- to 50-mile-per-hour serve, sometimes with top spin on it, so that their teammates can spike it for a point? Ask Casas that question as she led the team with 164 digs for the season. She showed speed and agility, often chasing down balls well out of the court, and made countless saves during games that filled spectators with awe.
Espinoza’s strident jump and powerful strike led the team with 71 kills. With just the slightest turn of the striking hand, she can hit the ball in any one direction and avoid the block. Also performing well during the season were junior Josefine Mork and senior Ashley Behrens, who had a season total of 52 and 51 kills, respectively.
Espinoza also led the team with an unprecedented 24 blocks. She would often time a block and turn her palms at exactly the right angle so that the block hit the floor in-bounds. Said coach Jonathan Nuttall about the Oct. 17 match with St. Vincent, “Highlights of the match were easily two monster blocks by Allie Espinoza, who ended the match with four total. I’ve watched a lot of volleyball in the area over the past couple years, but those two blocks were of a different breed [than] the soft ones you tend to see.”
Also notable this season was the power serve of senior Sophia Turic, who led her team with a total of 39 aces. Casas, with her direct low serves, had 30 aces for the year, while junior Hannah Sellards, with her powerful topspin serves, had 22 aces.
One of the highlights of the season was the home game against Analy, where the players honored their favorite teachers by inviting their favorite staff members to come support them, exchanging gifts and taking photos.
“It was awesome having such a packed gym,” said coach Nuttall. “Students, teachers and parents, shoulder-to-shoulder cheering the Hounds on. And I think it really helped the girls, too, as we played an incredible five-set match.
“We may have lost in that final set, but it was easily the most fun I’ve had coaching this team all season,” Nuttall continued. “Games like that make all the late nights and stress worth it. It was simply an incredible experience, and exactly why I love being a part of this sport.”
Season Review
The team’s three league wins included two 3-0 sweeps of Elsie Allen and a forfeit from Piner, which had too many contests scheduled during the season and was forced to forfeit the last three games.
They also had strong showings against both St. Vincent de Paul, the league’s second-place finisher, and Analy, falling short 3-2 in five game sets.
Though they scored hundreds of points and could match any team physically, the team did not make it into the playoff season. Coach Nuttall said, “That was my goal for the year, so it hurts to know we’ll be missing out. But it just means that me and the girls will have to come back stronger in 2025.”
Returning to the Hounds next year will be juniors Lilian Nieto, Siena Sbragia, Josefine Mork and Tatum Kiff, along with sophomore Elizabeth Aleman.
“I’ve learned a lot as a coach this year, and the non-seniors have made their own strides forward,” Nuttall said. “It will be hard losing these seven seniors, but it would be an insult to the girls still here to say that just because we couldn’t do it this year we won’t be able to the next.”
As for coach Nuttall’s own future, he said, “I am planning on sticking around. I’ve learned a lot this year, and while I didn’t achieve everything I hoped for this season, Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
