“I only knew how to say ‘hello,’ ” Garcia-Farias said.

Players with her skill set hadn’t often cycled through the Northwest Washington school, even as the Tigers sported 22 D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association titles in Arrington’s 24 years at the helm. Garcia-Farias started on the program’s first D.C. State Athletic Association championship team and flashed an all-around game befitting of a universal player. She could serve; could hit from the left or right; she had great ball control and could see the court well.

She was timid, but it didn’t come from a frustration with her performance, as was often the case for first-year players. There was something identifiable in her; an unrelenting fire and uncanny ability to forget the few mistakes she did make within seconds.

Two years later, she’s happy. Her English has improved drastically, helping her assimilate with teammates, in classes and around non-volleyball peers. She pops around before and after practice, taking selfies with teammates. She’s the center of attention, often occupying a spot on the bench and bouncing between conversations. Her grin never fades. She’s a team captain.

“[Coach Arrington] tells us all the time that this is the strongest team she’s ever had,” sophomore Carys Gray said. “And Alejandra is a big reason for that … this year, she’s shined. She’s our captain. She’s become a leader of this team.”

During the interview process, Garcia-Farias answered questions in Spanish to fully articulate her thoughts. She and her teammate, sophomore Elianette Escalera — who came to D.C. from Puerto Rico before high school and also takes English as a second language classes — also answered questions through Gray, who is bilingual.

Though the Tigers don’t often hear other teams speak Spanish in league games, they’ve grown accustomed to hearing it on club teams. Several top local coaches, including No. 5 Chantilly’s Danny Molina, are bilingual. More than a handful of the area’s top players hail from Europe and South America, representative of the sport’s international popularity, though most moved years before high school began.

“My freshman year, the anxiety was always there,” Garcia-Farias said. “This team has helped me a lot with building my volleyball skills and my character. That constant stress has gone away.”

Still, adaptation took time. For Garcia-Farias to lift the Tigers to higher heights, Jackson-Reed first needed to facilitate her growth.

The process was unrelenting. If Garcia-Farias didn’t have all the right words to say, Arrington wanted her to say them in Spanish. Talking in another language, she thought, was much better than not talking at all. There were players she could lean on: Gray, who came from the bilingual Oyster-Adams school; Kate Bukowski, also a bilingual teammate; a team manager who spoke fluent Italian and could communicate enough between their two languages to clarify some of Arrington’s commands. If Garcia-Farias had advice for the team but didn’t feel comfortable voicing it, she’d text her coach after practice to pass it along.

As opportunities increased, so did her confidence, not just on the court but in the hallways. Arrington saw glimpses of what bilingual teammates relayed from their time spent with Garcia-Farias after school. There was an assuredness and a bit of sass to her.

“She knows her worth both outside of volleyball and on the court,” Gray said.

In the pair of Garcia-Farias and Arrington, the Tigers have also identified an aligned vision — one they plan to ride in the back half of the state tournament. When asked what makes her coaching philosophy unique, Arrington referenced her day job as a clinical psychologist. Her role, she said, is to make sure her players not only feel like they can make mistakes but that they keep working on them until they’re measurably solved. In games, her voice is used most to correct minor mistakes. In practice, players must complete a drill successfully three out of five times before moving on.

It’s clear Garcia-Farias is of the same ilk. Escalara said she leans on her teammate’s confident outlook. Gray said she received advice from Garcia-Farias on how to thrive in Arrington’s system before even joining the team.

“My role is to support everyone on the team,” Garcia-Farias said. “To make sure your mistakes aren’t that big a deal, that you can just move on from them. And that everyone treats each other with respect.”

Certainly, there’s more room for Garcia-Farias and Escalara to come out of their shells. The former is still shaking her label as the “quiet captain,” asked to lead by example. Escalara is working on asking for help with vocabulary only when she truly needs it.

“[To be successful] on the court, I need to concentrate more on playing than talking,” Escalara said.

The Tigers aren’t coy about their plans. Before and after every practice, they reiterate their goal: to win a state championship. Each week, they’ve improved despite a relatively weak in-league slate. As the Tigers utilize a fast pace of play, on-court communication has been central to their pursuit. In their bilingual stars, they’ve found the right words.

“Alejandra already has a feel for what it takes to be a champion,” Gray said. “The underclassmen, we are a little intimidated by it. But there’s a hunger … and we can lean on her.”