After their shocking loss to Rolling Meadows on Sept. 4, the beginning of the Sept. 6 game against Barrington was looking bleak for the girls volleyball team. Barrington had a steady lead over Fremd for the entire first set due to strong and frequent attacks and the team’s slow blocks and digs. Barrington was able to quickly get into the game while Fremd lost many points as a result of inaccurate serves and missed receives.

Despite this, the girls made an excellent recovery in the second set due to an increase in consistency and focus to secure the victory by the end of the third set.

Head coach Curtis Pinley commented that the team’s greatest strength was the girls’ comeback.

“Coming back from adversity. We got beat pretty badly in set one,” Pinley said. “And we probably had every right to kind of feel like we could give up, and they had none of that in them.”

Although Barrington won the first set with strong offense, the team came back and played with even more tenacity and fierceness in the second and third sets. During the second set, several digs from senior libero Maddie Aichinger kept Fremd’s defense strong while Barrington tried to take back the lead with dozens of attacks. Barrington attempted to stay in the game throughout the second set, but by the third set, several serves from freshman middle blocker Claudia Wala had turned the game completely in Fremd’s favor.

Throughout the third set, while Barrington’s offense tumbled, Fremd’s shined through, junior outside hitter Breslen Reid laid down 10 kills, and freshman setter Rian Baker had 16 assists.

Reid discussed how their victory helped to boost the team’s low morale from Tuesday’s loss.

“I think this game helped bring our egos back up from Tuesday,” Reid said. “It’s good, [it] helps motivate us for the rest of the season.”

Baker added on, talking the lack of enthusiasm that lead to the loss of the first set.

“More energy – that’s our biggest struggle,” Baker said. “We need to be more excited when we score points.”

Pinley attributed the team’s calm and composed nature as what lead to their victory.

“I think it was a team win,” Pinley said. “We had some players who were struggling a little bit, [and] we had two players come off the bench today and do a fantastic job in high pressure situation. We could use more of that all season.”

Fremd, with a current record of 15-4, will face off against Hoffman Estates on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at home.

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