STORY BY LARISSA SAMANO, SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF CYPRESS COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The Fall 2023 season is upon students here at Cypress College and the pressure is on for the Charger Women’s Volleyball team.
The school’s athletics program holds 89 conference titles, and the state ranked 23rd overall women’s volleyball team is striving to make it 90 this season.
With the Chargers coming off of a 9-7 season, they have been practicing everyday since then. When asked how the team looked coming into this season, first year head volleyball coach, Danko Iordinov explained, “They got so much better during our beach season so our team is a lot better prepared.”
Just one week into the start of the season, the Chargers swept ‘Best Of The Rest” Mt. San Jacinto in three sets, then upset state ranked 17th Pasadena City in four. This puts the team at a 2-0 start for preseason with their LA Mission tournament coming up next. The Chargers are defending LA Mission champs and are looking to continue that winning streak they have started for themselves.
With nine of the 15 players returning for the second season, they have taken the 11 newcomers under their wing and have already perfected their chemistry. Returning team captain Shayna Martinez, sits at No. 2 in the record books for Cypress athletics for getting 33 kills in one match. When asked what was different about this year rather than last, she explained, “We have a good mix of sophomores and freshmen…. We are more family oriented.”
This Chargers team is showing their confidence, and this mixed with the mindset they have going into this fall season will work in their favor. There is a long season ahead, but the Cypress Women’s Volleyball team is ready to take on that challenge.
