Despite not remembering much about the Sacramento Adventist Capitals from previous seasons, sophomore Annya Dahmani said that the girls went into the Oct. 22 match determined to win. And win they did, beating the Capitals, 3-0, away.
At the beginning of the third set, junior Alexa Mathisen had a 15-point serving run. According to Dahmani, the Capitals and Cavs were both impressed.
“The serving run really set up how the rest of the game was going to be played,” senior Aidan Galati said. “Before the third (set) started, (coach) Jason (Kreps) told us to not get lazy and finish strong with a quick win. Alexa’s serving run assured us, and we worked for each of her serves.”
Dahmani said that because the ceiling in the Capitals’ gym was so low, the girls had to control their passes and keep them lower than usual. In the first set, the Cavs lost several points from hitting the ceiling with their passes.
“It took us a while to realize we needed to watch (our passes) more closely,” sophomore Katia Dahmani said.
Katia said that it was surprising that the Capitals also hit balls into the rafters.
“I thought they would be used to the low ceilings since it’s their gym,” she said.
She said that there were no more than four service errors and that the Cavs had very good passes and successful hits.
Many players who don’t get played often were subbed into rotation throughout the game.
The Capitals had a large crowd of fans attending their match because it was the team’s senior night. The Dahmanis said that while they do feel a little guilty for beating the Capitals on their special night, they would have felt worse if they had just thrown in the towel and purposely lost the match.
“That’s just how things go,” Annya said. “I would’ve felt worse if we lost.”
“Both teams played their best, but it just so happened that we played better,” Katia said.
The Cavs have now faced all the teams in their league and will begin playoffs after their Homecoming game against Buckingham Charter Magnet School on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m.
—By Sonja Hansen
