With over 800 million players and 900 million fans globally, volleyball has been gaining its popularity in the sports industry. Sophomore Amanda Le has been a part of the Arcadia High School (AHS) Frosh and Soph Volleyball team since freshman year, playing the position of defensive specialist. A defensive specialist defends in the back row and is responsible for receiving serves. Alongside being on AHS’ volleyball team, she’s also a part of an outside volleyball club, Forza 1. 

Le initially did not take an interest in volleyball. Although her older brother played volleyball, so she naturally would attend his games quite often. Soon, she sparked an interest in the sport after realizing how much ambition her brother possessed and how his team was intertwined; everyone relied on each other. 

“From then on, he became my biggest inspiration to play volleyball,” Le says. 

She began to practice volleyball in her own time and eventually tried out for the AHS Frosh/Soph Volleyball team.

However, pursuing a sport alongside academics and extracurriculars can be a challenge for many athletes. The sport, undoubtedly, consumes a moderate amount of Le’s time during the volleyball season. Interestingly, Le is currently not significantly affected by the addition of a sport to her schedule because practice normally does not last long. 

“Managing my schedule with volleyball isn’t typically that hard. Yeah, I do have homework slightly later, but it’s normally not that late,” says Le.

With just the first part of the season finished, there is still so much to experience and learn with the remaining time. Some of the best aspects of this sport are the memories created, the newly flourished friendships, and the bonding. 

Le mentions, “My favorite memory from volleyball is one of the tournaments I attended during my outside club season. We won all our games that season and I played alongside some of my best friends; we had a ton of fun.” 

Sports can be a burden for some people, but Le regards volleyball as comforting. 

“Volleyball is definitely a safe space for me. It’s [a place] where I can just forget about all my problems and allow myself [to find] some relief on the court.” Le remarks. Le also reflected on meeting some of her closest friends because of volleyball, stating that she’s “so thankful.” 

Although Le adores volleyball, she is unsure if she can participate in all four years of her high school career. 

“It’ll be hard to balance volleyball because of [future] extracurriculars [I want to pursue], but volleyball will definitely be a top priority,” said Le. 

Since the start of the school year, Arcadia’s Frosh/Soph Volleyball team has maintained their remarkable win streak. Good luck to the Frosh/Soph Volleyball team, and keep up the excellent work!

Photo courtesy of Kaitlynn Trinh