Playing volleyball takes sweat, skills, and team effort. With that said, Radford’s Lady Rams do not disappoint.  The ladies are represented in the Blue Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Varsity volleyball teams.

This season, the Varsity Volleyball team currently hosts 4 wins and 6 losses after playing Campbell, Waianae, Aiea, Nanakuli, Waipahu, Waialua, Mililani, Kapolei, Pearl City, and Leilehua.

Coach Candice Fujiwara recognizes her team’s talent and is working with her players to bring their skills to the court.

“They are so talented and is probably the most talented team I’ve coached in my 11 years here at Radford, but they need to believe they are talented,” Fujiwara said.

While every team has challenges, for one player, she strives for self-improvement to prepare for future games.

Shanna Francisco, who is on the White Varsity team (10), said her expectations for the team is “to improve, because improvement is better than winning without improvement.”

In order to win games, members recognize the importance of communicating with teammates, on and off the court.

When it comes to team communication, Francisco said, “It’s very hard to communicate in a different way than how you do outside of the court. But most of us have the same goal- to…win.”

These ladies bring different skills to the table to help them work as a team.

Middle Blocker Demetria Gary (11) believes that “we play pretty good as a team,” especially since “we all enjoy playing,” but recognizes that “everyone can get better.”

“I bring a lot of leadership, as well as encouragement,” JV Captain Caitlyn Garcia (10) said. “I try to make playing enjoyable for everyone, even if we’re losing.”

Francisco said that she brings positivity, determination, and skill to the team.

In addition to skills, the ladies bring varying experience to the teams.

Garcia, who has been playing volleyball for four years, said, “I joined because I really enjoy playing, and you also meet a lot of new people.” Her expectations are to improve as a player and win some games.

Francisco, on the other hand, is a first-year player.

“I joined because I was inspired by a show called Haikyuu, which is volleyball in Japanese, very hard core and intense boys volleyball.”

These girls put in six days of practice, Monday through Saturday. Their reward is to make it to the playoffs.

“Our girls work hard every day and we just need to keep persevering,” Fujiwara said.