Long hours of afterschool practice and many years of dedication paid off for girls’ varsity volleyball. Their district record is 14-0 and their overall record is 30-3, which makes them 46^th in state, area champs, and projected to go to the regional tournament.

“Our team works really well together when we need them the most, and we all have the talent we just have to put in the effort,” junior Ashlen Jennings said.

The girls defeated Memorial and claimed their 15^th consecutive win the for the team and locked in Coach Zora’s 400^th win.

“She had no idea any of us knew, so we really made a big deal about it. It was fun,” Jennings said.

All the girls chanted 400 and held up a 4 to help celebrate this major achievement for Coach Zora.

“It was awesome. That’s an accomplishment that many coaches don’t get to do, so having them celebrate and chant 400 was awesome. [Getting] 400 wins is one of those things that has been a goal of mine, but it takes commitment every single day to be able to do something like that.” Coach Zora said.

So far, the girls have only lost to Katy Taylor, Tompkins and one of their biggest opponents, Oak Ridge.

“Our biggest challenge in the playoffs is definitely going to be the Woodlands teams like Oak Ridge and the Woodlands, because they are really good and competitive,” junior Nena Mbonu said.

This team, in particular, has many players who train at TAV Houston during offseason, which keeps them in good shape and maintains their ability to work well together.

“We have a lot of girls who play together in the off season, which has really helped them, they’ve also gained more maturity and confidence, which has made them a lot stronger,” Zora said.

Many seasons together has also contributed to developing their close friendships, on and off the court.

“We’re all really close with each other, and we all have good relationships with each other, and that helps us work together when we play,” junior Kalee Cadwell said.

Besides the fact that the girls practice from 2-5pm. Every day, they try to keep the game fun.

“The worst and the best thing about this team is that they’re pretty playful. I like that they’re fun. For the most part we really enjoy practices. We just have really good chemistry with one another, all the players really seem to get along,” Zora said.

Maintaining good stamina through all of the sets, has been one of the biggest challenges for the girls so far.

“We really have to work on keeping good momentum, always staying energized, and staying focused on the game, not just in our heads,” Mbonu said.

They are advancing to the 4^th round of playoffs and expectations for the regional tournament are very high.

“We are going to win the state finals, mark my words,” junior Cadwell said.