The Annandale Atoms varsity volleyball team fell to the T.C. William Titans on Oct 14.  It was a hard-fought game that took up all five sets and eventually led to the Titans taking the victory on their home court.

“[The T.C. game] was really close, it went into five games, one game we won 25-10, and the last call was questionable,” said Head Coach Jan Austin.

The team seemed disappointed by this loss but wanted to put it behind them and focus on the games ahead. After getting over some key injuries, the Atoms are working hard to improve before their next game.

“[The T.C.] game was a game that will definitely wake us up to what we need to work on against South County” said senior Grace Franjie.

The Atoms still have three more big district games coming up, all of which are crucial to determining their rank within the Patriot District tournament.  The first is against the South County Stallions, who are undefeated within the district.

“It showed us what we need to work on and who we can count on when it matters,”  said senior Grace Franjie.

“We had a long week and a lot of distractions with homecoming,” added Austin.

The team hopes to finish the season strong to get a good ranking in the district.  They are predicted to play the West Springfield Spartans in the first game of district, but the end of the season is critical.  The top four ranked teams in the district get the home court advantage in the district playoffs.

“Our goal is to make it to regionals,” said Coach Austin.

Making it to regionals has been their goal for the entire season. The loss to the Titans put the Atoms record at 3-8 and 1-3 in the district.  With three district rivals coming up, the next week is crucial for their post-season success.

The team is composed of many young players and only six seniors.  The JV team has a winning record, which, when combined with the young talent already on varsity, makes the future looks hopeful for AHS volleyball.  One fourth of the team’s members are sophomores, who still have two more years to give to the program.

The Atoms have some strong hitters but they have to work together as a team to pull through and finish the season strong with some big wins.  The next home game is Oct. 26 against the Lee Lancers.  Come out and help support the Atoms in their bid to make regionals.  For the complete schedule for the rest of the season and scores and stats of all the games, go to annandaleatoms.com.