Senior Yasmin Gupta spikes.
The girls’ varsity volleyball team defeated its biggest rival, Valley Christian Academy, in just three sets on Sept. 22.
The girls got an early lead in the first set, and although they were able to hold onto it, the Lions’ score steadily inched closer as the game continued.
The score was neck-and-neck as ownership of the ball moved between the two teams.
Towards the end of the set, however, the Cavs regained the spark that had powered them through the beginning of the set.
Holding onto the lead, they won, 25-18.
Unlike the first set, however, the Cavs did not obtain the lead at the start of the second.
They remained close behind their opponents but eventually caught up.
Finally, when the score was 24-24, the Cavs pulled ahead, getting two points in a row and winning the set, 26-24.
Just like the first two, the score stayed very close in the third set, and the lead continued to shift between the two teams.
This finally changed when senior Yasmin Gupta had a serving streak, increasing the score by five points.
Both teams continued to improve their scores, but Gupta had done serious damage, and Valley Christian was not able to recover.
The Cavs won the set 25-17, ending the game.
According to assistant coach Sarah Song, their third was the girls’ best set, considering that they recovered from falling behind a few points and were able to stay ahead for the remainder of the set.
She also commented on their good serves and impressive serve-receive passing and defense throughout the game.
Senior Lea Gorny agreed with Song.
“We were able to keep up (our) serving as well as getting good passes, (which) set us up for really great hits,” Gorny said.
She also said that they were able to keep their energy up.
According to junior Heidi Johnson, Valley Christian is the team’s biggest in-league rival.
Therefore, Johnson was expecting a good, tough game.
Johnson said that along with good serves, she attributes the win to the fact that the team continued to work hard, despite having flat periods.
Even so, Johnson could still think of things that the team can improve on.
“We could have been more experimental with plays since it wasn’t as challenging of a game as we had thought,” Johnson said.
And Gorny saw some need for improvement as well.
“We could have kept a greater lead throughout all the games,” Gorny said.
“We’re a strong team. We could’ve beaten them without each set being so close.”
But despite this flaw, Gorny had lots of praise for the team.
“We’ve grown into such a strong team already this season.” Gorny said. “(We) are really playing well together.”
—By Anna Frankel
