Vixens Prep for Big First Game

With their first game a ways away, the Vixens, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity volleyball team, are practicing hard in preparation. Their first PSAL match on Tuesday, September 25th will be against their primary rival, Seward Park Campus, a team with which they have been equally matched in the past. In the previous season they lost their first game against Seward 2-0 and won their second 2-1. Their rivalry is evident in last year’s final league standings, with the Vixens taking first with a total of 11 wins, one loss (against Seward), and Seward just behind with a total of 10 wins, two losses. It’s clear that this first game could make or break their final standings and set a precedent for the rest of the season.

Having lost more than a third of their team with last year’s graduating class, including the majority of starters, tryouts and preseason are an important time. Captains and seniors Hanah Jun and Ally Archer have also developed a more positive team philosophy as they enter the new season. “The team had only been focused on winning, and there was a huge lack of communication when it came to dealing with our problems,” Jun said. “Now, the team's main focus is not on winning, but to grow not only as players but as people, and to create a family that always supports each other and wants to see each other improve. We're all on the same team—we should be competing with other teams, not each other.”

With cohesiveness as the Vixens’ number one priority, they are hoping to be prepared on game day after multiple scrimmages, including one on August 30 against Eleanor Roosevelt where they tied 1-1, and three upcoming against Riverdale, Bronx Science, and Richmond Hill. Speaking of the scrimmage, Jun said, “We overall played very well for our first match, and I'm excited to see how we improve.”

Hanah Jun:

Philosophy change: This year, the volleyball team is changing it's philosophy entirely. In the past few years, there was a lot of negativity on the team, to say the least. There were a lot of problems; I'm not going to go super in depth, but most of the problems were rooted in the issue of playing time. There were countless times during the season that things got really terrible, where people would just leave practice in tears or bawl at tournaments. It was super emotionally tiring to be on that sort of team. And the reason why this was the case was because the whole time, the team had only been focused on winning, and also because there was a huge lack of communication when it came to dealing with our problems. Yes, we were really good. Last year, we were seeded second in the city for playoffs, and even though we weren't city champs, our team was pretty great. But it was one of the worst years to be on the team, for reasons I won't go into.

I've been on the team since my freshman year, and although there have been many times when I wanted to quit, I didn't because I saw that we had a lot of potential to grow. Now that I'm captain, along with the amazing Ally Archer, who has also been on the team since freshman year, it's a little easier to spur this huge change. Now, the team's main focus is not on winning, but to grow not only as players but as people, to create a family that always supports each other and wants to see each other improve. We're all on the same team—we should be competing with other teams, not each other.

That doesn't mean we'll stop trying to improve and beat other teams, though. I honestly believe that creating this sort of supportive environment will actually help our team play better, since you have closer connections on the court as well. And I mean, this is PSAL—we're not going to get anything for becoming city champs besides a big banner and a brief burst of immense pride. Winning is temporary, but growing as a person, learning about yourself, and being part of an amazing community? That is eternal.

and the seward game:

Yes, Seward is definitely one of our biggest rivals, not only in terms of skill but also because of some terrible drama that occurred last year (or two years ago? can double check if you want). The fact that we're playing them first is definitely a little nerve wracking, but I think we have a lot of potential for this season and I'm more excited than nervous, especially because of our new change in philosophy. Also, we had our first scrimmage against Eleanor Roosevelt last Thursday, and we're going to have scrimmages against Riverdale, Bronx Science and Richmond Hill between now and the game, so I'm not too worried about getting enough practice. Each team took a set during the scrimmage against Eleanor Roosevelt, but we overall played very well for our first match and I'm excited to see how we improve. I guess the only (and biggest) thing that I'm anxious about is the fact that I might be a little rusty that day, since I'm going to be missing three days of practice before the game for a few fly-in programs. I may or may not be playing volleyball at those campuses, but we'll see how it works out! Sometimes, I play better after taking a few days off.