The Van Nuys High School softball team had their senior night on Wednesday, May 13 against the Canoga Park Hunters securing a 16-2 win. As underclassmen gave gifts to their seniors, three different seniors reflected on their time on the team. Here are their stories;

Angelina Volpe

Senior Angelina Volpe has been on the softball team since her freshman year and is now on varsity. She has dedicated time and energy toward the sport on top of her AP classes and other sports.

For Volpe, senior night was bittersweet.

“Our last home game was senior night and it felt literally amazing,” she said. “Having everyone there supporting us and us winning was so joyful because we had been having a losing streak but finally won on our senior night.”

It seems like senior night might have propelled the Lady Wolves into what could be a winning streak. After their senior night game, they won against Alliance Bloomfield 19-2 and then Bell Eagles 20-19.

Despite the win, Volpe’s highlight of being a part of the softball team is not reliant on their victories, it’s reliant on those surrounding her.

“My favorite part was definitely being with the girls,” she said. “Having fun at every practice and blasting music on the bus was some fun times.”

A fun environment is what Volpe tries to encourage in underclassmen.

“In my experience, high-school flies by so my advice is to just have fun, it’s good to work hard but don’t overdo it,” she said.

Volpe reflects about her years on the team.

“Now that I’m a senior, finally leaving is very bitter-sweet knowing I’m moving on to the next chapter of my life but I’m also parting ways from my friends on the team,” Volpe said. “I’ve met people that I thought I would’ve met in the four years of high school that I’ve been playing.”

Isabel Valles

Senior Isabel Valles has been on the softball team since her sophomore year and is now a varsity member of the team. Her story is a little different than that of Volpe.

For Valles, senior night was a relief.

“I definitely feel much happier now that my season is almost over, I was ready to leave years ago,” Valles said. “I know it was my choice to stay but I’m happy it’s about to be over.”

Despite the hard times Valles experienced being on the team, she managed to find some small moments of joy.

“I haven’t really had the best three years on the team, I dreaded going to practice and going to games but my favorite part was being close to some of my friends on the team,” Valles said.
“It was not the best team to be surrounded by but I was able to keep myself with my group of friends and be happy with that.”

While winning the senior night meant a lot to Volpe, for Valles, it was just another game.

“At the end of the day, it was just another win for me,” she said.

Valles is fully confident in her underclassmen’s ability to carry on the winning spirit.

“Since a lot of our seniors will be leaving, I know our underclassmen will have to step up their game but I believe that they are fully capable of doing so,” she said.”

Ashley Barrales

Senior Ashley Barrales has been on the softball team since her freshman year. Volpe and Valles shared what it’s like to be on varsity but Barrales brings a new perspective experiencing senior night from a JV standpoint.

For Barrales, being on JV wasn’t something to be ashamed of, in fact it seems more fun than varsity.

“As a senior on JV, I like it because I feel like varsity is way more competitive,” she said. “When I play on JV I’m glad to get a lot of minutes on the field, I don’t feel pressured to be perfect all the time, I just get to enjoy playing with my teammates.”

Barrales explains that experiencing senior night was a gift to her little self.

“On senior night, I felt really emotional because growing up I didn’t really get to play sports mainly because my brother got all the attention,” Barrales said. “But when I got to play softball and finally win, it was so rewarding.”

Although each of them had different experiences, all of their journeys led their team to the same spot; playoffs. Today the team will face Palisades High School to secure a spot in the Semifinals.