The girls volleyball team fell short against the Milpitas Trojans in a four-set battle—25-19, 26-28, 12-25, 22-25—in the CCS Division 1 Finals on Saturday afternoon.
M-A took control immediately to begin the game, pulling out a dominant 7-1 lead. Junior outside hitter Sophie Marks found her rhythm, drilling numerous kills for the Bears to encourage a timeout by Milpitas.
The Trojans retaliated with a run of their own, finding gaps in the Bears’ defense to shrink their deficit. Senior middle blocker Kayla Greenbaum hammered multiple kills to spark a newfound momentum for M-A. On the defensive end, junior opposite hitter Louisa King* denied several attacks by Milpitas, and senior outside hitter Jocelyn Chang held her ground with a series of clutch digs.
The Bears capitalized on sloppy plays by the Trojans with forceful swings, allowing M-A to take the first set, 25-19.
Staying in their rhythm, freshman setter Calista Chou kicked off the second set with an ace. However, Milpitas was able to respond, stringing together a series of points for a 10-5 lead. The Bears took a minute to regroup, eventually halting the Trojans’ run with aggressive kills by Chang and Greenbaum.
Senior libero Kylie Winters remained scrappy on defense, keeping the ball alive with impressive digs, but Milpitas still managed to build on a 15-8 advantage. The Bears persevered, showing their force with consecutive kills by Marks. A dominant serving run by Chang consisted of numerous aces, tying up the game at 15-15.
Despite both teams trading service errors, M-A struggled on defense, causing them to face a 23-20 deficit. With the stakes high, Greenbaum and Chang made crucial plays, and unforced errors by the Trojans tied up the game once again, 25-25. A shot on the line by Milpitas was misjudged as out of bounds by the Bears, and the set ended 28-26 in favor of the Trojans.
Entering the third set, both sides continued to face trouble on the service line, but Milpitas still managed to establish an early 7-3 lead. Despite impressive defense and powerful plays by junior outside hitter Julinka Pang and sophomore outside hitter Gabriella Lowe, the Trojans found success offensively, holding a 12-6 advantage.
The Bears took a timeout to regroup, but it proved insufficient, as they fell 25-12 to the Trojans to close the third set.
Understanding the stakes, M-A entered the fourth set determined. Following an ace by Marks, an extensive rally consisting of offensive efforts from both sides was concluded with a crucial hit by Greenbaum to tie the score, 9-9.
Chang showed her domination, following up a block with a destructive kill to give the Bears the advantage once again. Milpitas struck back with four consecutive points of their own and a 16-12 lead. Unfazed, M-A countered with a run led by senior middle blocker Lily Jacobi, who got multiple blocks to hinder the Trojans’ offense. The teams traded points, with a series of explosive hits by Greenbaum and Marks to tie the game at 22-22.
The Bears’ defense wasn’t nearly enough to stop the power of Milpitas, as they took control of the set, 25-22.
“Our team has come so far over the season, and I’m endlessly proud of all of my teammates,” Chang said. “I think it just came down to who wanted it more than, and we just fell short unfortunately, but I still think it was a really competitive game and everybody really contributed well.”
“It’s a bummer that we lost, but I think our defense is really good. I think we can work a little more on placement of the ball, but overall, I think we did a good job. I think unfortunately the other team had a little more energy than we did,” Winters said.
The Bears will face off against the Cardinal Newman Cardinals on Tuesday at home at 6 p.m.
*Louisa King is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
