On Sept. 20, the score of the last set for the girls’ volley match read 17-24 in Mater Dei High’s (MDH) favor. Convinced they had already won the game, MDH’s Crusaders began letting their guard down. Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) Barons were exhausted but determined to end the game on a better note.
In stark contrast to the harsh end of this game, the beginning of the match filled BVH with high hopes. Starting off with a strong serve from setter and junior Leah Letuli (2), BVH worked their way up to a strong lead of 7-0. Unfortunately, after that seventh point, BVH began to lose traction. After MDH scored twice, BVH gained possession of the ball once again. BVH co-captain, outside hitter and junior Anay’Ja Ayres (6) delivered a kill to bring the Barons up 9-2. Defending BVH’s lead, defensive specialist and senior Irie Iapala (3) scooped a spike delivered by MDH’s outside hitter, captain and senior Emma Oluwa (30).
As the set progressed, BVH grew fatigued and the quality of their gameplay began to drop. MDH took advantage of BVH’s struggles to communicate on the court and rattled off two points. BVH was lucky to catch a break when MDH’s middle blocker, outside hitter and senior Dilasha Patel (9) hit it out of bounds.
With the ball back in their possession, BVH set up for a kill, which was hit out of bounds by outside hitter and freshman Shawnelle Sanders (11). Coach Ahmad Rice used this as a teaching moment for Sanders and encouraged her, explaining that she already jumps higher than everyone and to just aim down.
“It feels really good [to get so much game time] as a freshman. It’s very fun and I love being included in the team and being a part of these group efforts,” Sanders said.
A long rally developed, each team eloquently setting up and the other team making impressive saves. Each team’s crowd screamed and chanted when their respective party almost scores against their opponent or saves themselves from getting scored on. In the end, MDH’s outside hitter and sophomore Delina Zora (number) striked the ball out of bounds and gave BVH possession of the ball.
MDH set and delivered a kill, which was easily dug by libero, co-captain and senior Hayley Frushon (8). In an effort to compensate for a pass 20 feet off the net Letuli attempted a set to the left pin, but miscalculated. As a result Frushon resorted to hitting the ball over the net and luckily placed it perfectly into the back corner, scoring for BVH.
“Rice moves me around so I have to adjust where I play but if he needs me somewhere I’ll be there,” Frushon said.
Small mistakes cost BVH 4 points and ended with the set score at 1-0 in MDH’s favor. During the break, the crowds got louder and louder attempting to outdo one another, each team’s unique chants echoing throughout the gym. The second set began with Letuli acing the first serve. Once again, this set up the Barons to take the lead. Despite the strong start, BVH continued to lose traction at a faster pace, losing possession after just two points. Frushon was trying her best to save as many kills as she could, darting all over the court. Sadly Frushon could not be everywhere at once, and a hit sneaks past her, allowing the Crusaders to side-out.
“I played okay, but I definitely could’ve done better, I usually play left back and [Rice] didn’t really put me there,” Frushon said.
Gaining possession back for BVH, Ayres placed the ball perfectly in the corner. MDH struggled to cover the back of the court as the Barons built momentum mid set. BVH set up for each attempt at scoring while MDH struggled to keep pace and focus on getting the ball over the net. The Barons took that rally’s point. Oluwa delivered a crippling spike to the back corner which Frushon attempted and failed to save. Regaining possession of the ball for BVH, Sanders landed a perfect kill all while avoiding blockers. This brought BVH into the lead 17-16.
“I think our communication was a little shaky but we were working on playing stronger as a team and less individually. In the end, we managed to pull through and started talking a lot more,” Sanders said.
Communication errors on the Baron’s part led to MDH dominating the remainder of the set. As the Baron’s spirits diminished, MDH took the second set of the night, leaving the set score at 2-0 in MDH’s favor.
“[Communication] was there, but it could’ve been better. Right now, I think we have all the pieces of the puzzle, we’re just figuring out how to put them together,” Rice said.
The third set of the night opened up on a negative note, with MDH taking the first point of the set. Despite being tired, BVH played smart, with Ayres tipping the ball over the net and scoring for BVH.
“We had a lot of energy on the court but we couldn’t put the pieces together to be able to work together. I feel like I played really well and supported my team a lot whether we were making mistakes or taking points, I was there for them,” Ayres said.
As the set progressed, BVH fell further behind. A lack of focus and general fatigue caused BVH to stumble through the next few points leaving the score at 16-22. Rice called a time out (TO) and fervently encouraged the girls while also pointing out what they needed to improve.
“When it comes to coaching a game, it’s a matter of using some cues that we use in practice as well as just finding things to help the players be more successful on the court,” Rice said.
After the game resumed, the Barons regained possession of the ball, bringing the score up to 18-22. The next two serves were by BVH middle blocker and junior Isabella Soto (12). BVH continued to score with MDH continuously fumbling the ball. MDH called a TO after regaining possession preparing a plan to take the final set. Oluwa hit the ball out, bringing the score to 24-23 with BVH just one point behind a tie. MDH once again fumbled the ball, tying up the set at 24-24. BVH continued their newfound communication into the last two game points.
“The last set was the best set we played because it was the closest score and we really hustled towards the end. In the last set, I also had more court awareness,” Ayres said.
MDH landed a hard kill and pulled ahead once again. BVH, still hopeful to take the set and continued the game, played their hardest. The home crowd encouraged and drowned out the visitors side in screams, shouts and chants. In an unfortunate ending, MDH scored one final point taking the 3rd set’s score to 26-24 in the Crusader’s favor.
The game concluded with a set score of 3-0. Rice explains his thoughts on what the outcome of the game should’ve been.
“I don’t think we should have lost that match because we are a stronger team. It’s always a hurtful thing [to lose a game], but [we take the] loss, learning from it and applying those improvements to the next game,” Rice said.
