The girls volleyball team took down the Capuchino Mustangs in four sets—25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19—on Tuesday evening. Before the game, M-A celebrated its seven seniors, escorted by their families, with flowers, photos, and memories shared by their teammates.
The Bears started off with momentum. A monster first serve from sophomore setter Ingrid Howse startled the Mustangs, providing an easy ball for senior middle blocker Addy Moeller to secure a quick point. The next four points consisted of rallies resulting in M-A’s favor, setting a commanding tone early on for the Bears, 5-0.
However, the Mustangs were not so easily dismissed. Capuchino capitalized on openings in the Bears’ defense, racking up multiple kills for a four-point run of their own, 5-4.
Sophomore setter Calista Chou took to the service line to round up the Mustangs, landing two aces for the Bears. Senior outside hitter Sophie Marks followed by executing one kill after another, establishing a firm 17-11 lead for M-A.
Even so, the Bears’ dominant margin was not fully secured, as both teams continued with back-and-forth possession throughout the set. Marks made multiple explosive hits, but the Mustangs answered each time with an attack of their own. Capuchino converted on easy points off miscommunications from M-A, closing the gap to 22-20.
After two wicked serves from Marks, a clinical kill from senior opposite hitter Louisa King closed out a first-set win for the Bears, 25-21.
“Being a leader on the court, especially with my fellow seniors, was so special to me,” Marks said. “I really enjoy playing alongside them and making an enjoyable experience for everyone.”
Entering the second set, M-A seemed to be controlling most parts of the game after holding the lead for the entire first set. But things took a turn for the worse once Capuchino snagged two aces in their first three serves.
The Mustangs matched the Bears’ first-set intensity, reversing the pressure in a series of hits and blocks. Marks rallied to put up critical kills for M-A, but the Bears still trailed, 11-7.
In a momentum-shifting play, an intense rally off a Mustang serve landed in Capuchino’s favor. M-A continued struggling to get the ball up off the Mustangs’ attacks, growing the deficit even further, 22-13.
Junior middle blocker Emerson Edwards sparked hope in the Bears after landing a hit right at the feet of the Capuchino blockers. However, this optimism was short-lived, as the deficit proved too great to overcome. The Mustangs utilized the lull in M-A’s receiving game to conquer the second set, 25-17.
“In a bunch of sets, we started out low energy,” junior libero Katie Haarmann said. “We need to minimize our errors, especially on serve receive and blocking.”
However, the Bears regained their momentum at the start of the third set with three consecutive points including an ace from junior outside hitter Gabby Lowe. The Mustangs quickly bounced back, gaining a 5-3 advantage.
After four precise serves from Marks, the Bears recovered to take the lead at 10-5. They continued this streak with a five-point run from deflections off Cappuccino and several subsequent aces, bringing them ahead to 14-6.
Despite relentless blocking pressure from the Mustangs, M-A held strong with an incredible kill from Lowe. King and Edwards added a phenomenal block to grow the Bears’ position to 19-11.
Still, Capuchino was not easily defeated. M-A struggled to connect on their blocks, giving the Mustangs an opportunity to close the eight-point gap to trail by one, 24-23. On the set point, an explosive kill from Edwards pulled the Bears through to win the set 25-23.
“I thought we had really good teamwork, and we had a lot of energy,” Howse said. “For the next game, [we need to] side out faster and limit our errors.”
M-A came out hungry in the fourth set, starting with six consecutive points off serves from Marks. After a slight setback from a missed block, the Bears charged even further ahead, 7-1, with powerful hits from Lowe, King, and Edwards.
M-A raised their commanding lead to 12-6 after an astonishing save by Lowe and several dominant kills from Marks.
Both sides fought through a series of exciting rallies with astonishing saves. Still, the Bears held their ground, earning several points from precise blocks.
Despite solid defensive saves from M-A, the Mustangs quickly responded with compelling kills and blocks, narrowing the gap to 22-17.
This push proved insufficient. With a final fiery kill from Marks, M-A secured the victory in the fourth set, 25-19. This closed out the match with a 3-1 win for the Bears.
“Seeing three waves of seniors go by, it’s so surreal that this was my night,” Marks said. “I’m so grateful for this whole program and how special it’s been.”
The Bears will compete in CCS on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at home, and their opponent is yet to be determined.
Louisa King and Emerson Edwards are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
