With 17 wins and only 11 loses, The Potomac Falls varsity volleyball team ended the season exceeding expectations. “This season was one of the best so far. Being an upperclassman and captain has been a leadership challenge this year”, said junior Holly Carlton. The team wanted to focus more on skills during what was expected to be a developmental season. Instead they got a season that continued to surprise them all.

The team’s most difficult match of this season was against Brooke Point. According to junior Stefanie Mutter, who is middle and right side hitter, the game against Brooke Point was the hardest because “They had a very low ceiling in their gym, so we really had to concentrate on being on our toes and ready for anything at all times.” Another game that was difficult was the match against Stone Bridge where the girls managed to take the first two sets by surprise, but Stone Bridge came back and won the fifth set.

The most important games of the season for the girls, besides the conference and regional postseason plays were the matches againt Freedom High School and Broad Run High School. It was important for the team to win against Broad Run due to it foreseeing them into going to the playoffs.

According to Mutter, the key player of the season would be Holly Carlton. “She is our strongest hitter, blocker, and setter.”

Carlton has been on the team since her freshman year. Carlton said her strengths “would have to be hitting and setting,” while Carlton personally wants to improve “on defense, especially blocking and setting location, and my vertical.”

The team has many expectations for the next season. “We won’t be as young as this year. You can count on it that we will be working hard outside the gym for the off season. The team exceeded expectations for this season tremendously, only half of our team plays year-around ball, so we are at a disadvantage compared to other teams. We battled all season, and playing as a team is what won us matches. We finished third in the conference and third in the region, so I couldn’t be more pleased with this season.” said Carlton.