The boys volleyball team beat the Mountain View Spartans in three sets, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-17, on Friday evening.
The Bears got off to a slow start with a few missed serves followed by miscommunication between senior setter Peter Chriss and offense. Since M-A was overall stronger offensively, the Bears’ errors allowed the game to stay tied at 5-5.
“We started off kind of messy, but we tried to focus on cleaning up our errors and making our serves in,” freshman libero Nick Sandoval said.
The Bears refocused and regained control of the game, thanks in part to a serving streak from junior outside hitter Ben Warner*, who managed three aces and forced Mountain View to call a timeout with M-A leading 9-5. Despite the Spartans attempt to slow the game, the Bears kept the power on, with another decisive ace by Warner right at the Mountain View libero.
M-A continued their hold on the set, maintaining a steady lead at 21-17.
Just as it seemed the Bears were going to cruise to a first set win, the Spartans found a glimpse of momentum. A series of missed serves and tools off of M-A’s blockers allowed Mountain View to narrow their deficit 21-20.
However, the Bears called a quick timeout to regroup and came back strong, closing out the first set 25-22.
The second set started off with a bang, with a massive stuff block from senior opposite hitter Johnny Kerr and junior middle blocker Millo Skhiri. Despite the high-intensity start, the Spartans wouldn’t let up, and their serving began to cause problems for M-A’s defense. After multiple aces by Mountain View, the two teams were locked in a 10-10 tie.
The Bears struggled both on offense and defense, having difficulty with serve receive and failing to utilize all of their offense properly, which resulted in a few hits into the block. This allowed the Spartans to take their first lead of the match, with M-A trailing 13-12.
M-A reclaimed control after sophomore setter Coen Chou went on a serving streak, scoring four consecutive points to give the Bears a 16-14 lead, forcing a timeout on the other side.
The Bears extended their lead with Chriss winning an important joust at the net, followed by kills from Warner and Skhiri to end the second set 25-20.
The third set was packed with long rallies, as Mountain View fought desperately to stay in the match and force a fourth set. However, M-A was determined to shut them down. Sandoval’s defense stayed consistent and his coverage of the hitters was precise.
On offense, both Chriss and Warner took control. Warner forced Mountain View out of system with his deadly serves, while Chriss hammered down on every set, crushing the ball and sending Spartan overpasses straight to the floor.
The Spartans kept fighting, but it was too late. They were unable to get their block up or dig M-A’s swings, allowing the Bears to pull away.
Mountain View called one final timeout with M-A leading 19-15 as a last-ditch effort to stay in the game, but the Bears’ energy was unwavering. Junior libero Jaden Clark contributed an ace, and the M-A pins were scoring with kills after kills.
The Bears closed out the third set 25-18, winning the match 3-0.
“We really connected a little more than usual, and we closed it out in three so we’re happy about that,” Skhiri said.
“Today, we played well and consistently,” Chriss said. “We just need to keep the energy high and control our game.”
The Bears will travel to face Lowell High School on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.
*Ben Warner is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
