The Bonita Vista High (BVH) Lady Barons girls’ varsity volleyball team fought hard for a 3-1 win on their senior night against the Olympian High School (OHS) Eagles. Rallying from a slow but progressive start, the Lady Barons managed to push through their fatigue and raise their spirits. The overwhelmingly enthusiastic and loud crowds’ cheers for the Lady Barons contributes to gaining and maintaining a lively energy, as well as boosting the home team’s confidence throughout the game.
The night opens up with a ceremony to recognize the three seniors on the team this season. The two teams high five wishing each other good luck, promoting healthy sportsmanship. The game starts out slow for the Lady Barons as the Eagles proceed to take the first two points. The Lady Barons side out and score twice before losing possession again. BVH plays messy, shanking the ball quite often throughout the first set. With a disappointing start to their senior night, the first set ends with a score of 24-26 in the Eagles’ favor.
“The first set, the set we lost, was the worst one for us. We did not come close to the energy we wanted to come out with, and the team as a whole played very slow,” middle and senior Haydee Arancibia-Hardwick (9) said.
Prior to this season, the BVH girls’ varsity volleyball team held a two year period of on-the-court dominance. The Lady Barons are coming off of two CIF champion titles in a row, making their way from D3 to D1 in two years. This year proved to be a challenge, as many of last year’s graduating seniors were vital parts to the team’s success. Varsity Head Coach Ahmad Rice explains how he maintains the excellence of the team despite the loss of vital players.
“Each year I have some kids [that] I bring up so that they can be exposed to the varsity level. That way we do not have too many gaps, already we have a lot of juniors that make up our core kids,” Rice said.
The second set of the night opens up on a much better route for the Lady Barons as they score the first four points of the set until a failed dive from Outside Hitter (OH), Defensive Specialist (DS) and Junior Anay’Ja Ayres (6) results in the Eagles gaining possession. Continued messy gameplay results in OHS tying the score at 6-6. As the set progresses, BVH gets their act together and once again pulls ahead as their opponent’s playing degrades.
“I think the main thing that shifted [from the first set to the next] was the adjustments. Those small adjustments can have huge implications on the trajectory of the game. When the girls started using their ‘volleyball IQ’ we started making those adjustments early in the second set which put us on course [to win the set],” Rice said.
Mid set, OHS saw a glimpse of hope when BVH had to resort to libero and senior Hayley Frushon (8) to hit the ball over the net. The Eagles were sorely surprised when her hit landed in the far back corner and scored a point for the Lady Barons.
“[The seniors] are all integral parts of the team but hopefully we will not be leaving too many holes by developing core players in the grade levels below,” Rice said.
Setter and junior Luvee Letuli (4) sets the ball to Ayres (6) who spikes the ball down, getting the lead back for the barons. Letuli explains the hardest part of the game for her and how she adapts to it as the game goes on.
“Switching it up is the hardest thing for me. Setting different sets as Olympian got to know our strategies, I had to change it up to keep them on their toes,” Letuli said.
For the remainder of the set, BVH held their substantial lead of seven points, until they won the set 25-18.The third set begins similarly to the first set with BVH fumbling the first few balls to come over the net. Despite the discouraging start to the third set, Letuli (4) saves the ball and BVH proceeds to score. BVH continues to maintain a clean gameplay, setting up each kill in an orderly fashion while Olympian struggles to keep a pace.
“Luvee coming back from an injury has a huge impact on the team and she definitely makes a difference on the court with the way she sets the ball. Her getting the ball to the key hitters on our team and providing good sets for them is a real integral part of the team’s offense,” Rice said.
As the set goes on, the Eagles improve and clean up their playstyle, tying the score at 7-7. Olympian sets the ball a bit too close to the net and Arancibia-Hardwick slams the ball down for a kill behind the 10ft line. This turns the tide for the third set and BVH takes it, which brings the overall set score to 2-1 in the Lady Barons’ favor.
“The third set was the best one for me. I picked up on my blocking and definitely played a lot smarter than I was in the previous sets. My touches were a lot more effective and allowed our defense to pick up balls easier,” Arancibia-Hardwick said.
As their communication and court analysis fully come together, BVH dominates the fourth and final set of the game. The large crowd that showed up to support their respective teams got louder and louder as the end of the set nears.
“Our crowd really came through for us. They were cheering 100% the whole game and it helped us pick up our energy even when we fell down. The stands motivate us to do better and keep pushing,” Letuli said.
The rest of the set BVH plays clean and clearly dominates the court. The Eagles are barely even able to attain a few points. Olympians hits the ball over and Frushon calls that it is going to fall out of bounds and BVH scores, winning the match.
“The second set tipped the scale of the game and gave [our team] hope that we could win the game. The third set built the confidence and the fourth set everything was just solidified. The energy promoted in our small intimate gym definitely helps fuel the girls just like it did the last few years through playoffs,” Rice said.
