Sophomores Jewel Turner and Bri Davies block a spike from Foresthill's team. The Cavs won, 3-0, on Sept. 11.

Varsity team reaches new heights against formidable Foresthill girls

Jacqueline Chao
Sophomores Jewel Turner and Bri Davies block a spike from Foresthill. The Cavs beat the Wildfires, 3-0, on Sept. 11.

When senior Annya Dahmani first glimpsed Foresthill High School’s varsity volleyball team, she was intimidated.

That’s because the undefeated Wildfires had significant height on the Cavaliers, including Dahmani, who stands at five feet four inches.

However, once the Sept. 11 home game started, the Cavs quickly gained the upper hand.

After SCDS hit 10-2, Foresthill became discouraged.

“They were missing important skills like passing and serving,” junior Bella Mathisen said.

And those weaknesses were evident in the first set, which the girls won easily, 25-11.

“Eventually,” junior Lea Gorny said, “they got a rhythm and made it a fun match.”

During the second set, tensions rose, and the Cavs lost their momentum.  

“We had good energy the first game,” Johnson said, “but that dropped in the middle (set).”

Foresthill started to take the lead, and the crowd’s intensity rose. Soon, the two teams were neck and neck (or, more precisely, neck and shoulder), inching up the scoreboard together.

Jacqueline Chao
Senior Lea Gorny sends a spike to the Foresthill girls in the third set.

Then the Cavs broke the tie, pulling ahead. Foresthill supporters increased their cheers, yelling at the team to “shake it off.”

Their cheers were to no avail, as the Wildfires succumbed to the Cavs, 25-17.

The third set was also close, each team taking turns leading the scoreboard.

Eventually, the Cavs advanced, finishing the match, 25-19.

Head coach Jason Kreps said that their passing and serving gave the Cavs the upper hand.

Dahmani, too, was proud of the team’s serving.

“It was hard for them to pass off our serves, which limited any rallies,” Dahmani said.

Almost everyone had good service runs, Kreps said. He also noted that junior Kyra LaFitte had her first pass, and Johnson, who played the entire game, made good digs.

Gorny said that although the team lost energy, they still played very well.

“A lot of us are pretty tired and have a lot going on academically,” Gorny said.

“I was proud that we were able to get through the match in just three games,” Gorny said.

Along with increasing the team’s intensity, Gorny said that the team needs to work on their blocks and defense.

The team’s next game is on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. against El Dorado Adventist at El Dorado Adventist.

By Larkin Barnard-Bahn

Print Friendly, PDF & Email