SAN ANTONIO – The Churchill volleyball team is on a mission to break a six-year playoff drought during this tournament season. With a record of 15-2, the Chargers recently secured victory at the SAISD Invitational, marking a promising start to a demanding schedule.
Tournament play presents unique challenges, requiring teams to maintain physical and mental focus throughout multiple matches in a single day. Senior setter Sofia Sedano acknowledges the difficulty: “Tournament season is very fun, but it’s really difficult because you have to show discipline,” she said. “You get to compete in like three or four games a day, and it’s hard work.”
For Churchill, this diligence is fueled by a clear objective. After narrowly missing the postseason last year, the team is more determined than ever to secure a spot in the playoffs. “I think it would honestly mean the most, and I think that’s what everyone’s leaning toward this season,” said senior outside hitter and defensive specialist Nina Karam. “I know a lot of us were disappointed from last season. We were very, very close but fell short.”
Karam envisions a playoff appearance as “the perfect ending” to a challenging season.
First-year head coach Julianne Ehrlich believes that last year’s near-miss has shaped the team’s mindset entering the current season. She commented, “We could have been better with executing in early season, so it wouldn’t have brought us to that point of waiting on somebody else to decide what our fate was going to be. That’s where I feel now it’s us being a little bit more hungry. And we want it more than we want anything else right now.”
This hunger is encapsulated in the team’s theme for the season: “jungle.” Players describe it as matching the energy around them while competing with a fierce and unified mindset. Churchill’s success hinges on the understanding that no single player can carry the team alone. Achieving a playoff run will require consistency and trust among all players on the court.
“It will obviously be difficult because getting to the playoffs is extremely hard, and it’s a long season,” Sedano noted. “We have to stay strong and consistent, but I think that we’ll be able to do it.”
Looking ahead, Churchill will next compete in the Seguin Invitational before focusing on the remaining preseason matches and gearing up for district play.
