Sienna Tinoco plays volleyball with a competitive and determined spirit that can’t be matched.

 Before Tinoco played volleyball, she was in competitive swimming since the second grade but stopped in the seventh grade. She then started playing volleyball at school during the sixth grade after her friends persuaded her to play the sport.

Her decision to play volleyball made way for a great time and great moments. One of these moments was during her game against El Camino Real Charter High School last season. It was a very close game with Birmingham Community Charter High School winning by only one point thanks to the Patriots’ cooperation on the court.

  “I was really excited,” said varsity team member Tinoco.

 Tinoco is a starter and a left-back passer in her team. A left-back passer defends that part if the court and passes the ball to their teammates. Tinoco’s overall record is 7-14-1 and has a division record of 1-9.

After a loss, she never blames her teammates for the defeat but rather it just motivates her to try harder and cooperate with her teammates.

  “It’s really great” and “you get to bond with the team,” said Tinoco, who just finished her junior year.

Sophomore Michal Francisco is one of the few girls who made the Patriots varsity volleyball team and day in and day out, she proves that she is deserving of being part of it.

She plays many sports during her free time including basketball and baseball but volleyball is the only sport that she plays in a competitive fashion.

“Besides the fact that it’s the best sport ever, I like the fact that it’s not necessarily a contact sport and you don’t mess with the opponents,” she said. “You can actually focus your attention on your own team.”

Francisco has been playing volleyball since the fall of 2012 and her hardest obstacle as a varsity player is getting the team to work together. She got into volleyball after joining a park league and fell in love with it, which happens to be the reason she is pursuing it in high school as well.

“Volleyball was a sport I instantly fell in love with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other hobby in the world,” Francisco said.

With the school year wrapping up and sports seasons ending, sophomore Emily Ward gets through another year of high school while maintaining good grades and playing on the Birmingham Community Charter High School volleyball team.

Ward had played volleyball before. However, she unwillingly tried out for the junior varsity (JV) volleyball team and made it. She ended up enjoying playing for the team and experienced new things that she didn’t have when playing volleyball in the past. While playing volleyball, Ward proudly accomplished working together as a team, getting healthier and more fit.

“Emily came late into the season but whenever she got playtime she did really well,” teammate Michal Francisco said.

This is Ward’s second year on the JV team. Before volleyball she played soccer for eight years. Even though Ward loves volleyball, her main goal in high school is to graduate and focus on her studies. In order for her to successfully reach her goal, she has decided to not play sports in her next two years of high school.

“Volleyball is a workout but also really fun. I’m not going to do sports anymore and just focus on my academics,” Ward said.

Freshman Erica Mallari not only made the Birmingham Community Charter High School girls volleyball team, she earned herself a spot on varsity.

Mallari started playing at the age of 10 and began to play seriously around the ages of 12 and 13. The pre-season for girls volleyball started on Aug.9 and their season started Sept. 30. Overall they had an okay season. They lost some games but played challenging games with the teams they lost too.

 ‘’Erica is a great passer. Even though she didn’t get much playtime last year I know she’s going to be awesome this next season on our varsity lineup and we definitely need her there,’’ said sophomore Michal Francisco, who is the setter on varsity.

When Mallari made the volleyball team, she was happy. Then the coach let her know she made varsity instead of junior varsity. She wasn’t sure what that was. Later on when she found out what varsity, was she honored and excited to participate in a higher-level team. Mallari looks up to all the players since she is the youngest on the team.

“I really like to play volleyball because it’s something I will always enjoy doing and it’s a fun sport if you know how to play,’’  Mallari said.