Tam girls varsity volleyball lost on October 8 to Novato in five games. Tam began strong, winning the first game 25-19, struggled slightly in the second and third, losing by only two and three points respectively and rebounding in the fourth game and won by a score of 25-18. Disappointment however, came in the fifth game, when Tam lost 12-15, giving Novato the third win they needed to take the match. “This game should have been ours,” said Coach Casey Mondragon. “I think we were the better team today.” There were several prominent players in the game, including outside hitter, senior Karleen Schuldt with 16 kills and nine aces, and sophomore Shoshana Herzog who had ten kills and three blocks. Also contributing greatly were junior Lizzy Benson, with 11 digs, and junior setter Aubrey McKinney with 27 assists, six kills, and five aces.

Earlier this season, before the start of MCALs, Mondragon was optimistic about the impending matchup.

“The girls are really eager to beat San Rafael and Novato this year, definitely,” he said.

Since the team went 0-14 in MCALs last season, they are hoping to rack up as many league wins as possible this year, which made this loss especially disappointing.

“The first game we played really well,” said senior captain Karleen Schuldt. “Second game, we came in a little cocky and suffered a tough loss. Fourth game, we brought it back and played really well, and during the last game we tried our hardest, but didn’t pull through.”

Tam volleyball has suffered many losses over the last few years but this season is looking bright under the leadership of Mondragon. The team is performing well on the court in terms of technicalities, but they are hitting roadblocks in other aspects.

“We had a serious talk after the game about the effort we need to put into at practice,” said Mondragon. “We need to have our heads in competition mode, come game time, and were just not mentally there in matches theses past couple games.”

With four games left in the season, Tam now stands 2-6 in MCALs and 8-13 overall.