Around 70 girls showed up to the Coronado High School girls volleyball tryouts from Aug. 1-3, and only 12 of them made the varsity roster – seven of whom are returners from last year.
Despite this being coach Adeile Ahmu’s smallest squad in her seven seasons of coaching for CHS, she believes it to be her strongest.
“There was a lot of competition out there for all positions,” said Ahmu. “It was a tough year for tryouts. We had long deliberations at the end to try and keep the girls that were the strongest and most fit for the team. I think we did a really good job of choosing girls that can play multiple positions and share a lot of their skill across the board.”
Squad of seven returners and five new faces
Among the seven returning varsity players is last year’s co-captain and setter, senior Emily Page, who is committed to play for Biola University next fall. After getting a chance to see the new group in action during their first practice on Aug. 5, Page said she anticipates a successful season for the Islanders.
“There’s a lot of kinks to work out, but when we finally become a really united team, we definitely could win league – we have all the parts,” said Page.
This year, two freshmen join the varsity team. Middle hitter Emily Albin and outside hitter Ashlynn Proctor are expected to be big assets in the front row.
“The freshmen are really good,” said Page. “They’re probably what’s going to raise our season this year because we really needed their positions.”
Strong front row with more plays to run
Ashlynn Proctor is coming on as the second Proctor to line the roster. Her older sister, senior outside hitter Sadie Proctor, was a co-captain for the varsity squad last year and a major presence on the court.
“Both Sadie and Ashlynn play outside, which means they’ll be on the court the whole time,” said Page. “That’ll be a game changer because we’ll have two strong hitters – one back row and one front row – so I’ll be able to spread the ball around more.”
Similar to Page, Ahmu has high hopes that the Islanders will be able to run a wider range of plays with their hitters this season.
“Once we get our middles established and connecting with our setters, that’s going to be a very fun and very fast game for us,” said Ahmu. “We’re going to be a pretty big powerhouse.”
Eyes set on taking home the league title
The girls will be competing in the Division 2 Eastern CIF league, with their first game set at home for Aug. 13 against El Cajon’s Christian High School at 6:15 p.m.
While the Islanders expect some competition from Christian, they are also gearing up for games against Point Loma High School, University City High School, Scripps Ranch High School, and ultimately – another chance to take home the league title.
For the past two seasons, the Islanders have been knocked out in the first round of playoffs against Mission Vista High School in Oceanside. This year, they are hoping for a different outcome.
“We just have to work on trying to keep our mental game leveled and just being a little more calm out there on the court,” said Ahmu. “Even though we want to compete and we want to win, we also have to remember to have fun and that we’re out here because we love the game.”
As Sadie Proctor prepares to head into her last season after four years with the Islanders, she hopes to leave behind a positive impact for the years ahead.
“This season is really special for me, not only because I’m a senior, but this is also my younger sister’s first year,” she said. “It’s really cool for me to just kind of start leading the other girls even more and to take what I’ve learned from the past four years and pass it onto them and hope they will continue to do that.”
