This is Giao We Do It

Ben Lack, Sport's Editor
October 4, 2017

After missing the entirety of her junior volleyball season with a knee injury, senior Giao (pronounced Yow) Huynh has returned this year, looking to restore the chemistry with her teammates and build a strong comeback season.

“We’ve had a few rough patches so far,” Huynh said. “Even though we’ve been focusing on having fun, I really want to go far. But it’s also about team building, and hopefully we’ll make it to the district finals.”

Losing Huynh early in the 2016-17 season put a damper on a year filled with high expectations. Although she was sidelined for the duration of the year, Huynh served as the manager of the team.

“The team was honestly really devastated that we lost Giao because she was such a key player,” junior Lydia Howald said. “But on the sideline she was a great motivator. We had her throughout the year and it still worked out so we’re really excited to have her back.”

Getting healthy enough to start the season was along and arduous task, Huynh recalled.

“Rehab was very challenging,” she said. “It took a lot of effort, but it was definitely worth it to get to the spot where I’m playing again.”

Senior Emily Canavan said that Huynh’s presence on and off the court positively influences the whole team.

“Giao is a vital team player,” Canavan said. “She’s the backbone of the team, and she is going to help us make our run in districts. It’s really good to have her back.”

With the recent resignation of Coach Shane Cassel, the team will look to Huynh to provide a veteran leadership presence during practice and games. Assistant coach and former player Megan Green has taken over head-coaching duties. The volleyball team sits at 6-4 at the time of this publication. Huynh leads the team with 76 kills thus far this season, good for fourth in the district. After her senior year, Huynh will be attending Jacksonville University on a volleyball scholarship. The JU Dolphins are an NCAA Division I school in the Sun Atheltic Conference.

“I’m really appreciative of the opportunity to play college volleyball,” Huynh said. “I know it’s the dream of so many of my peers, and so I’m thankful I can do it.”