The girls volleyball team fell to the Sacred Heart Gators in a four-set matchup—25-18, 23-25, 14-25, and 22-25—on Monday evening.
M-A came out commanding in the opening set, establishing a quick lead initiated by sophomore setter Ingrid Howse, who recorded two consecutive aces. Sophomore libero Calista Chou kept the rally alive with an impressive dig, and senior outside hitter Sophie Marks came in with a dominant kill, extending the Bears’ advantage to 4-2.
Sacred Heart answered with a run of its own, taking an 8-5 lead, but M-A fought back with decisive defensive plays from Chou and senior opposite hitter Louisa King*. Junior middle blocker Emerson Edwards* added a block, while junior outside hitter Gabby Lowe delivered a kill to keep the Bears within striking distance.
M-A continued to chip away at the deficit, with crucial serves by Chou leading the attack. A block from junior middle blocker Kate DeWitt and Howse, followed by a net violation on Sacred Heart, gave the Bears a 13-11 advantage.
Howse applied more pressure to the Gators from the service line, recording another ace to push M-A’s lead to 16-12. Sacred Heart responded with a run of their own, but the Bears regained momentum through kills by Lowe and Marks. An ace by Chou gave M-A set point, and Marks delivered the final smash as the Bears took the first set, 25-18.
“We had some great plays and momentum runs that helped us win the first set, but we lacked in our blocking and communication on defense,” Marks said.
M-A carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a promising 5-0 lead. Marks and Edwards provided early offensive production, while Chou and Howse helped the Bears maintain control in the back row. Sacred Heart was quick to fight back, but M-A continued to find success on both attacks and defensive plays. Marks and Lowe recorded several kills, with Chou keeping rallies alive with digs, and a powerful kill by Lowe tied the game at 17-17.
Howse then put the Bears ahead with a setter dump, and Lowe followed with another spike to keep M-A within striking distance late in the set. However, the Gators pulled ahead and held on to win the second set, 25-23.
With the teams tied at one set each, the Bears responded aggressively in the third. After trading points early, M-A took a 3-2 lead following a block. DeWitt added a tip to keep the Bears ahead, but the Gators answered with back-to-back points. Sacred Heart eventually opened an 8-6 margin and forced an M-A timeout. The Bears attempted to regain momentum off kills from Edwards and Marks, but Sacred Heart continued to capitalize on M-A’s errors, leading the Gators to extend their advantage to 18-9.
Junior defensive specialist Bella Schmitz provided a spark for the Bears with an emphatic serving run, helping M-A cut into the deficit. However, Sacred Heart maintained control and closed out the third set, 25-14.
The Gators struck first to start the fourth set, but the Bears quickly answered with a tip from King, and junior opposite hitter Johanna Key* added on by nailing a point-winning spike. Lowe helped keep the Bears close with several crucial hits, and a net violation on Sacred Heart brought the Bears within one, 9-8.
Marks hammered a kill, and Edwards and Howse combined for a block to give the Bears the lead. Sacred Heart responded, but M-A refused to let the Gators pull away. Marks recorded another smash to tie the game at 13-13, and Key added a block. The Bears built off this momentum with an ace by Schmitz and a block by Edwards to bring M-A within one at 17-16.
The teams continued trading points in a tightly contested fourth set. Despite a block by Edwards and a powerful hit by Marks, Sacred Heart took a 21-20 lead. With the match still within reach, M-A continued to battle late with Marks smashing back-to-back kills, but the Gators’ offense stood strong, defeating the Bears 25-22 in the fourth set, ending the game with the Gators prevailing 3-1.
“Volleyball is one of those sports where momentum can change at any time and it’s important to learn how to maintain energy and momentum,” junior setter Teagan Forcier-Koranda said.
“We will definitely try to minimize our errors as best as possible and use our momentum to our advantage [next game],” junior defensive specialist Katie Haarman said.
The Bears will travel to face the Menlo Knights on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
*Louisa King, Emerson Edwards, and Johanna Key are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
