On Tuesday, the girls volleyball team overpowered the Burlingame Panthers in five heated, nail-biting sets.
The first set started out strong from both teams, a head-to-head battle ending in a score of 25-20 with the Bears taking the lead.
Burlingame came into the second set with renewed energy and determination. Despite losing the previous set, the Panthers kept their heads held high, barely letting the Bears score any points. The Panthers dominated, winning 25-13 and leveling the score at 1-1 in sets.
After being left in the dust last set, M-A started the third set strong. A couple minutes into the third set, M-A was up 5-1. However, with a couple of strong hits and serves, the teams were once again knotted up at 12-12.
Ultimately, the Bears pulled through, ending with a final score of 25-19 and winning the third set.
Burlingame entered the fourth set strong and ready to fight back. They quickly took the lead and had the Bears trailing behind for the rest of the set. Despite M-A pushing them to the last point, the Panthers were able to level the sets at 2-2.
M-A struggled in the opening points of the final set, which is only played to 15 instead of 25. However despite the early adversity, the Bears did not let their spirits dampen and continued to be resilient as they had been all game. Senior Aria Sokol said the Bears had to make mid-set changes. “We had to seriously adjust our serving and receiving in order to complete better passes off of Burlingame’s powerful serves.”
A couple of points later, the score was tied 10-10. However, soon after their new defensive tactics and multiple incredible blocks, the Bears wiped out the Panthers with a final score of 15-12.
Junior Ava Chansari said, “I think the win reinforced that we deserve to be the number one team in the league, and it definitely took away any doubt that we may have had previously.”
The Bears have been incredible in league play this season, and they are looking to make a deep run in the postseason.
