As with any sport, the varsity volleyball regular season comes to an end. The Chiefs had an overall record of 23-13 and will be moving on to the state playoffs.

The team was led by Coach John Edwards, who was very impressed by the girls’ performance this past season.

“So far, we have been the type of team I expected: always playing together, always playing hard, and never backing down,” Edwards said.

Over the season, he has noticed every individual developing and conforming to team ideals, especially his younger players.

“I have seen improvement with everyone in terms of understanding how to handle certain situations. The new and younger players have worked hard to improve and fit into our team concept,” Edwards said.

Junior Allie Powers has played on the varsity team for two seasons now and believes that the season has gone well for the Chiefs, although they had their bumps in the road.

“We definitely had our ups and downs. We’ve accomplished a lot: we got second in county, fourth in region, and qualified for state,” Powers said.

This was senior Olivia Goss’ third and last season on the varsity team. She enjoyed this season a great amount and believes it is due in part to the team’s chemistry and bonding.

“This season has been amazing. Our team this year is super close and that has made the season so much more fun,” Goss said.

She also feels that this season has increased her playing ability and has made her a better player overall, although she does not have any reasoning behind this.

The team always goes into matches feeling optimistic, primarily due to Edwards’ practices focusing on their next competition.

“We practice around 3 days a week. Practice definitely prepares us for matches; Coach Edwards has us focus on certain things that each team does and what we can do to beat them,” Powers said.

Goss believes that the Chiefs could not have been readier for each match this season and is always high-spirited.

“Our performance is always driven by our energy, and our will to win,” Goss said.

The team has qualified for the state playoffs and will play Alpharetta on Oct. 20. Alpharetta is ranked first in the state and is going to be Sequoyah’s most challenging match of the season.

“I’m super excited about state this year. We had some setbacks in the preliminary rounds that determined our placement, so we have to play the hardest team first, but I know that we can pull through if we want it bad enough,” Goss said.

Although the matchup is intimidating the Chiefs, Edwards is confident in the team’s ability and will have a game plan prepared in order to come out on top.

“We are up against the number one team in the state, Alpharetta. We are looking at it as a challenge and enjoy the underdog role. We will have a plan in place and work to execute as best as possible,” Edwards said.