Down by four points in the second set, the girls’ varsity volleyball team prepared themselves for game point. Oviedo served the ball and there was a long rally between the two teams. A missed dig ended the second set. That was as close as the team got, as the final score was 3-0 Oviedo.

“Team chemistry and bonding were two of our biggest problems in the game,” libero Mayte Camacho said. “We need to be able to communicate with each other when we are frustrated.”

Camacho was one of the team’s main defensive players throughout the season. She had multiple digs that saved important points, even though they lost in the end.

The team proved earlier in the season that they could beat and play well against Oviedo. Their last game against Oviedo was very close, as the final score was 3-2. Maintaining the close matches this time, the scores were 25-20 in the first match, 25-20 in the second and 25-22 in the last match.

Players were frustrated and were not communicating clearly with one another.

“We needed to focus on getting over what just happened instead of getting upset with each other and not communicating,” setter Brielle Mullen said.

Errors were also a problem for the team, coach Juanita Hitt said. There were over 30 errors in the match. The team also sees the loss as an opportunity to get better and work on plays to help them beat Oviedo later on.

“We are going to be focused on limiting errors on our side,” Hitt said. “In practice, we are going to work on drills that focus on having low errors.”

Districts are next for the team. The main focus is to stay positive and continue to improve on their current problems. Oviedo is not in the team’s district, but if they make it a couple of rounds into state playoffs the team will face them again.

“I am optimistic that we can turn this around to be something positive. The loss can give us more motivation to play better in our postseason next week,” Hitt said.

The team’s next game is Oct.19 for the district quarterfinals. Tickets can be found at gofan.com.