On Saturday morning, the girls volleyball team lost to the Saint Francis Lancers in the opening round of the CCS Open Division playoffs in three sets, 17-25, 14-25, and 13-25.
The Bears were looking to dethrone a strong Lancer team that is currently ranked 14th in the nation. The game started off with an M-A serve and point, but the Bears quickly found themselves in a hole down 7-4. The Bears continued to try and even the score but failed to erase the Lancers’ lead and fell 25-17 in the first set.
The second set started with promising play from senior Aria Sokol and junior Kiela King. However, despite the early lead, Saint Francis struck back with four unanswered points and went up 9-4. Sokol said, “We had a couple good streaks of points. If we had been able to keep the momentum on our side for a longer time, we could have won a set, but it was really hard to do that at an away game.” More points from juniors Ava Chansari and Meki Maile kept the second set competitive and sparked energy from the M-A sideline. The Lancers still pulled ahead late in the set, going on to win 25-14 and taking a 2-0 set lead.
The third set started with both teams playing evenly, but a Saint Francis run gave them a seven point lead midway through. Despite valiant efforts by the Bears, the Lancers continued to pull away. The Bears’ offense found some rhythm and cut the gap to eight later in the set with the score of 19-11. Eventually, the Lancers put the game away with multiple powerful kills and blocks, winning the final set 25-13.
After the game, junior Duru Ruacan said, “I am very proud of the team even though we lost. Saint Francis is a perennial power and we held our own with them the whole game. We all fought really hard so we can hold our heads high.”
Despite the disappointing loss, the Bears automatically qualified for Norcal Regionals and will continue their post-season next Tuesday.
