It was the perfect first-day-of-fall combination: SCDS’s Annual Chili Cook Off and a home girls’ volleyball match against their league rivals, Valley Christian Academy.
With 14 pots of chili simmering in Crockpots in the quad, the Cavs prepared to battle the Lions on Sep. 22, their toughest competition of the season. And the crowd came out in droves.
Fans piled into the stands with high hopes of the Cavs taking home the win. And the JV girls felt no different.
“We were all really pumped for this game and hoping to win, so that made us really aggressive on the court,” sophomore Emma Boersma said.
They started off the match with a 3-1 lead, though that didn’t last for long.
The Lions pulled ahead, 8-11, and from there on out, the Lions were unstoppable. They took the first set, 25-14.
But the Cavs weren’t ready to give up.
The girls started off the second game with a substantial 7-3 lead, though the Lions quickly recovered and tied the game, 11-11.
Again, the Cavs fell behind 16-18, but an impressive 9-point service run by sophomore Alyssa Valverde led the Cavs to victory, 25-18.
The crowd went wild. Everyone was cheering, which only increased the Cavs’ momentum.
Going into the third set, the pressure was on.
Though they were eager to win, the Cavs quickly fell behind, trailing 2-10.
This deficit was unrecoverable, and in the third set the Cavs fell to the Knights, 8-15.
A significant portion of the crowd left during the middle of the third set to go get chili, but at the end of the game the parents congratulated the players on an impressive game despite the loss. Coach Sarah Song attributes the loss to lack of movement on serve receive.
“They could have communicated better with each other calling balls in or out, short or deep, and listening to each other when someone did call the ball,” Song said.
The Cavs’ next game is Saturday, Sept. 23, at the annual CIVT Tournament away.
—By Bri Davies
