The girls volleyball team dominated the Hillsdale Knights in three sets—25-16, 25-10, and 25-15—on Thursday evening. The Bears were in control of every aspect of the game, most prominently in serving and defense.
M-A started the game off on a hot streak, led by junior outside hitter Gabby Lowe’s six serves to put the Bears up 6-0.
M-A and Hillsdale traded points, bringing the score to 13-5 before the Knights took their first timeout of the game. Coming out of the break, Hillsdale went on a brief five-point run with the Bears unable to respond. However, two expert kills from senior outside hitter Sophie Marks turned around the momentum in favor of M-A, giving the Bears a commanding 20-12 lead.
Building off of Marks’ efforts, sophomore libero Calista Chou took the reins at the service line and earned another two points, forcing the Knights to call another timeout at 22-12. After some more back and forth between the two teams, M-A’s superior teamwork earned them a first set victory of 25-16.
“The first set [was my favorite moment] when we’re all just really excited that we’re playing really well,” Lowe said.
The Bears continued their dominance into the second set. Chou kicked the set off with four serves that Hillsdale struggled to return, which put M-A up 4-0. Sophomore setter Ingrid Howse then took over, recording three aces and providing the Bears with other excellent defensive plays to put M-A ahead 11-1.
M-A and Hillsdale continued to battle back and forth, with no team able to get a clear advantage. A couple of unforced errors by the Bears allowed the Knights to cut into M-A’s offensive success, with momentum starting to build. However, fierce leadership and stellar playmaking from Marks—including a sliding dig to earn M-A a point—ensured that the Bears would remain dominant throughout the set.
M-A rode on Marks’ heroics to a set point of 24-8. And after a couple of retaliatory hits from Hillsdale, Howse finished the set for the Bears with a decisive kill.
Lowe began the third set with two powerful serves that left the Knights scrambling to return. After a two-point response from Hillsdale to tie the game, the Bears went on a run.
At the helm of the attack was Howse with serves that immediately put M-A in an advantageous position at every point. A series of errors from the Knights and well-placed kills from the Bears jumped their lead to 8-2.
M-A kept dominating. Serves from Marks boosted M-A to 10-4, before Lowe smashed a kill to continue her excellent night. “My favorite part of the game [was] Gabby,” senior libero Claire Gracia said. “Gabby did super well.”
The Bears and Knights kept on battling throughout the third set, eventually settling at 14-7. It was at this point that M-A decided to put the game to rest. The Bears catapulted their lead to 23-11, led by Marks’ unwavering determination to win, including a critical ace late in the set. In addition, Chou and Howse made key sets for M-A’s offensive hitters.
Despite last-ditch attempts from Hillsdale, a serve from the Knights went into the net to seal the victory for the Bears, 25-15: a clean three-set sweep.
“I’m looking forward to us just coming together as a team more and winning,” Chou said.
The Bears will play the Half Moon Bay Cougars at home on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.
*Emerson Edwards is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
