The girls volleyball team defeated the Carlmont Scots in a five-set thriller: 26-28, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25, and 15-8 on Tuesday night.
The Bears entered the game tied 1-1 with Carlmont, creating much anticipation for this matchup, as it determined who would take the number one spot in PAL. The team hosted a pink-out theme and offered baked goods at the entrance of Ayers gym in support of the Side-Out Foundation for breast cancer awareness.
The first set started with the Bears facing trouble due to a lack of communication and defensive effort. This forced a quick M-A timeout while trailing 9-5. Senior outside hitter Jocelyn Chang flipped the switch and came out of the timeout strong with back-to-back kills to bring the score to 9-7. The Bears rallied off this energy with consistent offense and battled to take a one point lead.
Back-and-forth points left the crowd on the edge of their seats, but the Bears stayed on top thanks to an ace by senior libero Kylie Winters. As the set was coming down to the wire, the Scots managed to tie the score back at 24-24, and a lack of Bears communication eventually led to their downfall, losing the first set 28-26.
The second set began with strong serves from freshman setter Calista Chou and sophomore outside hitter Gabriella Lowe that resulted in a sizable M-A lead, putting up four points before Carlmont finally managed to get on the board.
Despite the good start, Carlmont began to close in on the Bears’ lead. The Scots fans were abuzz as the score reached 5-5, but a powerful and well-coordinated M-A offense, spearheaded by Chang and Lowe, allowed the Bears to stay just ahead of Carlmont with a score of 9-6.
After intense back-to-back play, the tally found itself even again at 15-15. Both teams stayed neck-and-neck until M-A fell short in multiple long rallies, leaving the Bears in a three-point deficit, 23-20. A forceful kill from senior middle blocker Kayla Greenbaum gave the crowd hope, but the cheers from the stands quickly faded as Carlmont bounced back and scored once more, causing an uneasy silence as the Scots prepared to serve for game point.
The Bears’ defense tried to turn the game back in their favor, but slipped up, and an M-A mistake left the second set in Carlmont’s hands with a final score of 25-21.
The third set started quickly with blocks by senior opposite hitter Ruby Stone and an ace by Lowe to put the Bears up 5-3. Even so, Carlmont battled back with consistent play and iron-clad defense to take the lead, 9-7.
Numerous hard-fought points by the Bears eventually evened the score at 13-13. This was followed by a hot streak of spikes from Chang that allowed M-A to take a three point lead.
After a Scots timeout, the Bears continued to utilize their momentum and build on their distance, making it 20-15. Remaining dominant, M-A eventually won the third set with a score of 25-20.
The devoted parents in the stands kicked off the fourth set with a chant, keeping spirits high despite the Scots taking the first few points. An ace from Lowe put the Bears on the board, and notable plays from Chang and sophomore setter Teagan Forcier-Koranda opened up for an M-A lead as they climbed to 16-12.
Multiple referee disputes stunted the Bears’ momentum, and as play went on, the Scots clawed their way back to a dead-even 20-20 game. With the match hanging on edge, an ace from Chang and a dump from Chou pushed the score to 23-23.
A serve from Lowe that clipped the net and barely made it over, followed by a quick response from Carlmont, left the score locked at 25-25. A kill from the Bears left the home bench electric and had parents and friends riveted for the set point. M-A served, and a breakdown of communication among the Scots left them frozen in place, unable to defend as the ball landed in their court. This gave M-A a fourth set win with a final score of 27-25.
The fifth set started with both teams eager to claim victory and secure the match. Right out of the gates, it was clear that the Bears were the dominant force—a series of long, successful rallies brought M-A up to 13 points; meanwhile, Carlmont was left with a paltry four.
An impressive ace from Chou set the score at 14-4, a decisive lead for the Bears.
“We have great team chemistry. I think we work really well together as a team. We play well, and I think that could get us really far,” Forcier-Koranda said.
The match was all but over, however, the Scots still did not back down. They took advantage of the Bears’ overconfidence and scored four times in a row. Their efforts were to no avail though, as they were shut down by Winters, who planted the ball squarely in Carlmont territory and ended the set 15-8, guaranteeing an M-A win.
“We could have definitely done better in the first two or three sets, but we picked it up afterwards. It’s been a bit of a trend where we start a little slow and pick it back up later,” Forcier-Koranda said. “We need to try and keep it going from the beginning. It’s something we’ve been working on in practice. But overall, I was happy with how we picked ourselves back up.”
“I think some key plays were definitely running the middle and just utilizing free balls. I feel like we did really well today, and we managed to come back,” Chou said.
The Bears will make their stand on Sequoia’s home turf on Thursday at 6 p.m.
