Like always, the gym was overflowing with fans before the girls’ varsity volleyball Homecoming match, on Oct. 23, against Buckingham. And as the match started up, even more Cav rooters tried to squeeze in to see the girls take an impressive win against the Knights, 3-0.
Dozens of times the Cavs spiked the ball hard onto the Knights’ court, making the crowd completely lose their cool. Students jumped up and down, waving homemade signs wildly. A few boys ended up accidentally ripping them in their fervor. Spirit Committee members added to the excitement by starting up cheers and decking out the crowd in red and black paint and necklaces.
“All the fans motivated us to do our best,” freshman Bella Mathisen said. “They made the game so much more exciting.”
Before the match, audience members, like sophomore Atsuo Chiu, seemed very confident that the Cavs would have an easy win.
“I know my girls will do great,” Chiu said. “(Sophomore) Kyra (Petersen) is my favorite. I love watching her grow. I’ll be supporting her from the bottom of my heart. I’m her number-one fan, but I still love all the other Cavs.”
Sophomore Kyra Petersen hits.
Chiu’s devotion to Petersen might have done the trick because soon after the first set began, Petersen went on a 5-point serving run. Senior co-captain Sydney Michel immediately followed with a 10-point serving run. Together the girls boosted their lead to 15. However, Mathisen said that the runs made the match tedious.
“(The runs) were kind of boring,” Mathisen said. “It was great that we got a lot of points, but I think one of the players on the bench could have gotten subbed in after a little bit.”
Later Kreps began subbing in more players who don’t get much playing time. The moment the Cavs won the set, 25-7, most of the student audience leaped out of their seats, screaming their approval.
“(The match) is pretty smashing,” junior fan Austin Talamantes said before the second set. “It’s pretty popping.”
In the second set, the Knights tried to keep it close, but they were soon blown away. Michel had a a second serving run – this time for 13 points – which astounded the crowd. The boys’ soccer team, which made up most of the student audience, left towards the end of the second set to get ready for their game, so there was not as large a celebration when the Cavs won, 25-9.
But English teacher Jane Bauman remained at the match to continue applauding the girls.
“(The match) is very exciting,” she said. “I came to a game earlier this season, and now I can really see how much they’ve improved.”
The third set was kicked off by a 10-point serving run from junior co-captain Alexa Mathisen.
Programs created by Gabriella Foster, assistant to the head of high school, featured pictures of JV and varsity players, their rosters, special senior letters from coaches Jason Kreps and Sarah Song and Buckingham’s roster. However, after the match, dozens of fans hustled outside to the soccer game, leaving their programs on the floor with only a few helpful students to clean them up.
In addition, dozens of third and fifth graders stayed for at least the first set, and almost all had at least two jumbo pixie sticks from the snack booth in the lobby. By the second set, the sugar kicked in, so they sprinted out of the gym to run around campus.
The Cavs’ next game will be away against the Faith Christian Lions (whom the Cavs beat, 3-0, in early October) on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m.
—By Sonja Hansen
