The girls volleyball team defeated the Half Moon Bay Cougars in three sets—25-15, 25-13, and 25-12—on Tuesday evening
The Bears kicked off the game with high energy, but the Cougars took the first point. This wasn’t an issue for M-A, as tough serves by senior outside hitter Sophie Marks allowed the Bears to bounce back, raising the score to 14-3 in M-A’s favor.
“I thought everybody had really consistent serves today, and [did well at] being aggressive at the net, taking big swings, just encouraging each other,” sophomore libero Calista Chou said.
As a result, Half Moon Bay called a timeout in an attempt to shrink the lead, but they did not execute. The Bears continued their intensity, closing out long and intense rallies with precise swings from junior outside hitter Gabby Lowe and Marks.
Due to a few mistakes on the Bears’ side, the Cougars took a couple of points, lowering their deficit to 19-12. However, M-A maintained its lead with phenomenal blocks and defensive moves by Chou, securing a greater advantage.
Senior middle blocker Addy Moeller concluded the first set with a kill, securing the score of 25-15.
The second set started with a bit of a scramble to get the first few points, but the Bears were able to snap back with an ace from Chou and effective hits from Lowe and Marks, accompanied by a setter dump from sophomore setter Ingrid Howse, bringing the score to 5-3.
“I think our [setter-hitter] connection was really good. We really had limited errors, and everyone was having fun,” Lowe said.
The offense continued to run smoothly with fierce hits from Lowe and senior opposite hitter Louisa King*, but the Cougars caught up with kills of their own, putting the score at 11-10 with M-A narrowly in the lead.
A well-placed pass by Chou set up junior middle hitter Emerson Edwards*, who slammed a ball down to give the Bears a wave of momentum.
The Cougars called another timeout in an attempt to counteract M-A’s traction, but the Bears came back assertively with seven consecutive points with Howse at the service line, accompanied by Marks’ powerful swings.
The set concluded 25-13 with an error at the net for the Cougars, leaving the Bears in a promising position.
The third set began with an ace for the Cougars, followed by a side out, evening the score at 1-1.
Through lengthy back-and-forth rallies demanding unwavering determination, M-A was able to execute with kills from Moeller and Marks, raising the score to 10-4. The Cougars then called another timeout to recuperate, but failed to catch up.
The Cougars continued to scramble, trying to make up for their deficit. Still, Lowe proceeded to dominate at the net with a block and kill, further building the Bears’ lead.
Despite a couple of mistakes on the Bears’ side, M-A kept it together and pushed through with hits from Marks, finalizing the score at 25-12.
“The first goal was to win, but then once we were kind of ahead in the first two sets, the goal was more to have fun and get a bigger lead, so that we could put more people in,” junior middle blocker Kate DeWitt said.
Next, the Bears will battle the Capuchino Mustangs away on Thursday at 5:45 p.m.
*Louisa King and Emerson Edwards are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
