The varsity girls volleyball team swept East River, 25-12, 25-15 and 25-16, on Wednesday, Oct. 14 in their last regular season game of the season. The team’s Senior Night ceremony was also held for seniors Kaitlyn Heinis, Alexis Marini, Jessica Brown, Brianna Baez and Lauren Basen.

The team even extended their Senior Night celebrations to the seniors of the other team, offering them roses before the game and starting a round of applause for the three East River players.

Although East River initially led the first game, the team made a quick comeback, taking a 15–10 lead after three kills in a row by Brown, and won 25-12.

“We started out a little rough because I think we were all just really emotional from the ceremony before the game, but once we got past that, we were ready to play,” Marini said.

During the second and third games, Marini replaced Basen as libero, and Baez was pushed to outside hitter as the coaches and players switched around positions to keep the game interesting and fun.

“The game went amazing, even though most of the players weren’t even playing in their proper positions,” junior Andrew Ballantyne, who assists in coaching the team, said. “They had a rocky start because they had to get used to their unusual positions and of course they were upset from the [senior night ceremony]. But once they calmed down and they were fine.”

While the season saw some losses, most notably to nationally ranked Winter Springs High School, the team led a strong season and is confident leading into districts.

As for next season, the team is confident their success will continue into next year.

“We have a young team who will all step up and do really well next year.” Liz said. “I have no doubt our team will continue to dominate, even without this year’s seniors.”

The team faces off in district qualifiers on Tuesday, Oct. 19.