Winners of the DAC-VII conference, Chapel Hill High’s varsity volleyball team ended its season with an overall record of 22-5, going undefeated in conference play before being upset in the second round of the state playoffs.
“The season went pretty well overall; it didn’t end how we wanted, but it was still a great season,” junior Aarya Potti said.
One of the season’s highlights was the Tigers’ win in five sets against East Chapel Hill High School, which extended the team’s conference streak to a perfect 12-0 and gave the team the DAC-VII conference championship. The win marked the Tigers’ third straight victory over the Wildcats.
The team was also a perfect 13-0 at home this season.
After defeating Panther Creek High School in the first round of the state playoffs on October 23, the Tigers fell to Apex Friendship in five sets three days later, marking an atypical early exit for the team.
The team made it to the semifinals of the playoffs last year after winning the state title in 2019.
“Honestly, I think that playing at Chapel Hill was a very large part of my life for the last four years,” senior captain Kaya Monrose said. “I chose to see this end as an opportunity to move on to the next step in my life, which is playing club and then college volleyball.”
Monrose, one of five seniors on the team, has committed to play volleyball at Emory University next year.
The season also marked the second year the team had to play with COVID restrictions, but senior Jadyn Malawski believes that the pandemic had a much less of an impact on the sport this year.
“I’d say it was definitely better than last year, since we had an increased season compared to last year, but we did still wear masks while we played,” she said.
Potti said that, with the loss of the team’s seniors, next year’s team will have big shoes to fill.
“The fact that we have many seniors graduating is very sad to me. I love them all and I’m going to miss them so much, as will the rest of the program,” Potti said.
