MAST Academy’s JV volleyball team was asked to quarantine due to coming in contact with a positive player of the opposing team while at the game at John A. Ferguson Senior High School.

By Andrea Castiblanco
Sports Editor

Miami-Dade public schools continue with a new cautionary season for fall sports to play while trying to maintain the spread of COVID-19 with a whole new set of rules and precautions to follow. MAST Academy made the all-clear for volleyball to return on August 31 with a total of nine games in their 2020-21 season, yet “it is a big possibility that more games will be added onto the season due to rescheduling and we are still waiting on confirmation on the annual GMAC conference” said girls JV and Varsity volleyball coach, Coach Funcia. Before the season started, each player had to get a physical done as well as sign COVID-19 release forms in order to play. Once cleared to play, each player has to complete a health screening everyday of practice before stepping on the court. The health screening consists of a temperature check and a questionnaire of about 12 questions regarding potential coronavirus symptoms. 

The first game of the volleyball season took place at John A. Ferguson Senior High School on October 27 with the JV game at 6 p.m. and the Varsity game following right after. Both teams took a loss that night. 

Almost a week after the game at Ferguson, news broke out to the Lady Makos Volleyball Team that a JV player on the Ferguson team tested positive for COVID-19. The new regulations for the 2020-21 season and Miami-Dade County Public Schools state that if a student comes in contact with another student who has tested positive for the coronavirus, then that student who has now been exposed to the pandemic must quarantine at home for two weeks. During the JV game vs Ferguson, ten MAST players were on the court at the same time as the player who came out positive for COVID-19 across the net. All ten girls were then asked to quarantine which means that for those two weeks school must be done online, and players cannot attend practice nor games. Sophomore Camila Acquarone, one of the ten players asked to stay home, shared her worries for the future of their season, “when I got the call from Dr. McKoy ordering me to quarantine, I instantly stressed on what that meant for the team. I was scared that games were going to get canceled and eventually lose the season as a whole” she said. 

Luckily for the JV team the following game vs G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School on October 29 did not have a JV team, so their season continued without a bump. The following game scheduled at Miami Beach Senior High School on November 4 was canceled due to COVID-19 and by November 9, the two weeks for quarantine were up and the absent players were able to return to play. 

The season now continues for the Lady Makos JV and Varsity Volleyball teams with hopes of finishing the season strong and hopefully securing a spot in Districts.