A heartbreaking loss against Langley last Tuesday closed out the regular season for McLean girls volleyball. With the first round of districts tonight, the stakes are high for the Highlanders.

“Our season could be ending soon,” senior middle blocker Alexa Sribar said. “It’s single-elimination from now on, so if we lose our season will end, and if we win we will keep playing, potentially into the first few weeks of November.”

There have been both ups and downs in the team’s season as players adjust to new coaching staff and a largely new roster. Their final record was 4-8, but 6 of those games went to 5 sets, making their performance in the postseason unpredictable.

“All things considered, our season has been going pretty well,” Sribar said. “We had 8 seniors graduate last year…[and] we also got new coaching staff this season, [so] a 4-8 record is not bad at all. Going into the postseason, the team is looking to be competitive.”

This series of disappointing losses in close games can bring down even the most positive players, but the team remains confident that their spirit will serve them well in districts.

“A strength of our team is definitely our energy,” senior outside Katia Abelev said. “We have a lot of good cheers with specific ones for specific players, and even when we have injuries, these players never stop cheering.”

This camaraderie is increasingly important as the first quarter wraps up and the balance between schoolwork and athletics becomes more difficult to maintain. With districts in the middle of important tests and college application due dates, the girls must support each other more than ever before.

“This time of year is always tough for fall athletes,” Sribar said. “With the first quarter ending and seniors having college deadlines, the girls tend to get burnt out and less focused on the game. Our focus is on supporting each other and pushing each other to keep putting in effort in our final games.”