During the preseason, the varsity girls’ volleyball team took a trip to paradise returning with a runner-up trophy of the silver-division back to the mainland after strong play in the Kamehameha Schools Maui Invitational.

When asked about the outlook on the team and the 2012 season, Senior Co-Captain Courtney O’Donnell said, “coming into the season, none of us really knew how the team would do after losing 5 seniors, but we have been working really hard as a team and have all become best friends.”

Despite losing 5 seniors from last year, 4 3-year varsity players and 1 4-year varsity player, the lady Owls put up a strong fight against visiting Pasadena Poly in the 1st match of the season but came up short (after an appeared incorrect call) losing in 5.

The Owls (0-1) took on Brethren Christian at home a week later, sweeping the visiting non-league opponent in 3 (25-17, 25-9, 25-12).

In their next event, the Laguna Blanca Invitational, the girls team came in 1st in pool play but fell to St. Joseph’s in the 1st round of playoffs.

On Sept. 20, the Owls traveled to the Brickhouse for a match against local opponent Bishop Diego High School. Strong play from Sophomore Hannah White, 21 digs, and Junior Clara Madsen, 13 kills, lead Laguna to a 3-game sweep over the Cardinals (25-16, 25-22, 25-22).

A day later, Laguna Blanca hosted non-league opponent Viewpoint, who outplayed the Owls from the beginning. Viewpoint handed Laguna their second loss of then 2012 regular season after the Owls fell in 3 (21-25, 11-25, 12-25).

Laguna Blanca (2-2) hosted Villanova Prep on the 25th. Impressive play from two freshmen, Phoebe Madsen, 12 kills, and Dani Abrams, 6 kills, with contributions from Junior Olivia Pickett, 7 digs, lead the Owls to victory in 3 (25-13, 25-12, 27-25).

The No. 2 team in Division 3-AA, Windward, came to town to face off against No. 8 (Div. 4-AA) Laguna Blanca (3-2) over the weekend. Quality play from both sides were shown in the first 2 sets, which were closer than expected.

Sophomore Hannah White lead the team in kills, 5, followed by Senior Co-Captain Bella Taron, 4 kills and a team-high 5 digs, after one set. However, Laguna fell short losing 20-25.

In the next set, the Owls kept it close up to the last few points, with Windward pulling away in the end. The 2nd set score was 19-25.

In the 3rd game, Windward started off strong and never looked back, winning by 16 and closing out the match 19-25.

The Lady Owls opened Condor League play with a 3-game sweep over the Dunn School Earwigs, winning 25-15, 25-18, 25-22.

Senior co-captain Bella Taron served a team-high of 9 aces, while sophomore Hannah White lead with 9 kills. Junior Clara Madsen posted a team-high of 11 digs for the defensive play.

A week later, Laguna rolled to another league win in three over Providence Hall. Bella Taron had a stellar all-around performance with 3 aces, 4 kills, and a team-high of 14 digs.

A couple days later, the girls improved upon their undefeated league record by downing Thacher in three. Laguna started out strong and kept the momentum charging as they won 25-13, 25-7, 25-11. Junior middle-blocker Grace Woolf had an exceptional offensive performance with a team-high of 11 kills, while Senior co-captain Courtney O’Donnell carried the defense with a team-high of 13 digs.

Crosstown rival Cate School Rams traveled to Laguna for the Owls’ Homecoming matchup, and, once again, the Owls soared to a 3-game league victory. Sophomore Hannah White carried the offense with a team-high of 10 kills and contributed 9 digs on defense.

The Laguna Blanca Owls (7-3, 4-0) look to maintain their undefeated league record as they travel to Providence Hall on Tuesday.

Varsity Roster:

*Courtney O’Donnell (Sr.)

*Bella Taron (Sr.)

Jessie Dusebout (Sr.)

Chanelle Jansens (Sr.)

Clara Madsen (Jr.)

Chloe Richman (Jr.)

Grace Woolf (Jr.)

Olivia Pickett (Jr.)

Grace Copeland (Jr.)

Hannah White (So.)

Phoebe Madsen (Fr.)

Danielle Abrams (Fr.)

Luisa Cameron (Fr.)

*denotes captain

JV: Both Junior Varsity teams acquired a new coach this year. Blake Dorfmann (’02) is coaching JV Blue, and Katherine Nitsko is coaching JV White. Nitsko’s philosophy is “work hard, never give up, and play as a team.” Dorfman’s philosophy is “at the JV level we see competition at a variety of skill levels. Our goal is to focus on what we can improve on our side of the net and not play down to any competition. We set team goals for each game and were off to a 3-1 start with a dominant win over Cate.” Both teams are working hard, improving everyday, and are off to great starts.