Today, most of the 2,000 students that make up LZHS will walk through the doors lost in the haze of summer days, but the girls’ on the volleyball team have never really left. They’ve been at the high school, working hard. And they’ve got one goal in mind.

“I’ve talked to the girls who were on the team last year and it seems they have one goal, which is state,” said Matt Aiello, the girls varsity volleyball head coach, “and it’s a very realistic goal.”

After wrapping up a strong season that seemingly ended too soon with a record of 26-8 last fall, the girls’ volleyball team is back and better than ever.

The positive attitude seems to be backed by the team with great enthusiasm, but they make sure to take small steps.

“We try to set our goals step by step, so we look at the season and say, ‘let’s start with conference, then sectionals and so on,’ ” Ali Summers, senior libero who is a four year member of the LZVB program, said.

The team is hopeful that those small steps will eventually pay off in the long run.

“We’re going to make sure to take it one step at a time and not go in overconfident, but state is definitely the goal,” Amanda Orchard, senior outside hitter who is also a four year member of the program, said.

While the goal of state seems to be shared by the whole team, they know all too well it could be stolen at any second. After having a chance at the super-sectionals last year, Lake Zurich came up short against Stevenson in the sectional championship.

“We’re trying to pick up right where we left off and have a strong season again,” Aiello said. “We always play as hard as we can, make the other team earn every point, and show up to compete.”

The road of a champion is not an easy one. The girls work strenuous hours every week so they can be ready for every moment in every game.

“Right now we are working on game situations in practice so we can be ready for anything. We are also working with the new girls who are filling in the holes from last year,” Summers said.

The girls practice two and a half hours a day and work on preparing the team so they can hit the ground running at their first game against Carmel on August 23.

Since most of the girls on the team are veterans at the sport, volleyball is more than a game, it is a passion.

“Were going to make it as fun as possible,” Orchard said, “We’re gonna put out a good team, and I want to end my time with Lake Zurich volleyball on a high note.”

Of the 12 girls rostered last year, three were freshman/sophmores, six were juniors, and only three seniors, so most of last year’s team will be back for the 2011 season.

“We have almost a full returning team. We work really well and we all feel like we can go pretty far,” Summers said.

As a result of an almost-full returning team, the girls already have a close relationship with each other, and while bonding is taken seriously on the team, formal bonding exercises aren’t necessary.

“This year the whole team is such good friends and we are so close, we don’t even need team bonding!” laughs Summers.

The countless hours of practice and 23 games can push the girls to the limit, but at the end of the day, the girls always have each other.

“I’ve known most of these girls for a long time and we really work on our team bond,” Orchard said. “I love these girls and I want to be friends with them forever.”

Twelve friends and teammates make one team. One team with one goal and one season to reach it. For senior girls, this is the deadline for state.

“State would be the perfect way to end my volleyball career because for me, this is it,” Summers said. “I’m not going to play in college and just to go down to state with my best friends would be the greatest ending to my volleyball career.”