The Old Rochester girls volleyball team were knocked out of the South Division 2 state tournament following a loss to No. 1 seed Notre Dame. But according to Head Coach Matt Bisso, competing in the tournament was a major win for the program this year.

“To make it this far and play the number one seed was amazing,” Bisso said. “The girls have grown and performed at such a high level.”

In the quarterfinal game, Notre Dame won 3-0 over the Lady Bulldogs. Notre Dame, which won a state championship two years ago, beat ORR 25-12, 25-14 and 25-7 in the three matches.

This year marked the team’s return to tournament play for the first time in eight years.

Bisso said students who joined the team as sophomores worked hard the past few years to improve.

“Every year they gave more and increased the expectations they had for themselves,” he said.

Senior and middle hitter Hayli Marshall agreed.

“We’ve known since we were sophomores that this was a growing program,” she said.

After having endured years where the team earned only one win, players celebrated the season.

“We went through the losses together and now we’ve gone through the wins together,” Marshall said. “We’re really close because of that.”

Looking ahead, Bisso said another core group of players is coming up through the ranks. Hopefully, the team will again be a playoff contender.

“We’re poised to return to the state playoffs,” he said. “And that’s a position we want to be in every year.”