As the ref blows the whistle and signals for the serve, junior Kylie O’Brien transitions to her base along the net waiting for the other teams’ reply. This signals the start of her beginning on the Girls Varsity Volleyball Team, though she is no stranger to the program.

O’Brien joined the program her freshman year, making junior varsity. O’Brien would help the team to a 10-2 record her freshman season along with a 11-3 record her sophomore season. 

“I heard good things about it and everyone says how you improve so much, especially with coaching,” O’Brien said. “The Oviedo program is full of people who want you to encourage each other and come into the gym every day and work hard.”

O’Brien’s first start was against Doctor Phillips in the Lions preseason match. The match ended in a three set sweep of the Panthers. She was experiencing many emotions after the game. 

“That was really scary,”  she said. “Everyone said that I’d be fine and just to breathe.” 

The Lions attended the Nike Southeast Tournament of Champions and O’Brien would start the first day. However, she was limited in playing time on the second day, and didn’t play in the Lions final game of the tournament. The Lions would go 4-2 in the tournament ranking seventh in their division.

“I was disappointed in how I finished in the tournament and hope to improve in the coming weeks,” said O’Brien.

The Lions’ latest contest was against Oviedo’s hometown rivals, the Hagerty Huskies. This would present a great challenge for O’Brien and the Lions as the Huskies are entering the match 8-3 after losing their last game to Trinity Prep in four sets.

Stepping onto the court after the senior ceremony, O’Brien was ready for arguably the biggest game of their season. After winning the first two sets, the girls would lose the third and fourth set. However, the Lion’s were not about to give up without a fight. In the fifth and final set, the Girls would pull off the upset, defeating their hometown rivals with a score of 15-11.

“It felt so good that we won,” said O’Brien. “I was really happy we pushed through.”