The girls volleyball team fell to the Carlmont Scots in three sets—12-25, 20-25, and 23-25—on Thursday evening.
The match began with a few mistakes leading to dropped balls on the Bears’ side, allowing Carlmont to secure an early 4-0 start.
“We were trying to run some more plays, like freeball plays, and then just overall run a faster offense. I think that was our most fun goal,” senior middle blocker Addy Moeller said.
The Bears called a timeout and scored on a kill from junior middle blocker Emerson Edwards, followed immediately by an ace from sophomore libero Calista Chou.
With the help of two missed serves from the Scots and powerful hits from junior outside hitter Gabby Lowe and senior opposite hitter Louisa King, the Bears sparked a run. Junior setter Teagan Forcier-Koranda took her place at the service line and served five balls in a row, shrinking M-A’s deficit to 20-12.
More errors from the Bears gave Carlmont an even greater advantage, and a block from the Scots capped Carlmont’s 25-12 first-set win.
The second set started similarly, with M-A behind 4-0, but after a precise set by sophomore setter Ingrid Howse, Edwards forcefully hit the ball down to reset the momentum. Senior outside hitter Julinka Pang managed a kill as well, raising the score to 5-4 with the Bears just a point short.
Despite the slow start, the Bears bounced back and established solid energy. Howse delivered two consecutive aces to put the Bears ahead 11-9, leaving the Scots’ serve receive scrambling.
“After the first set, we snapped back into the right mindset with the whole talking part, especially without our starters. It’s pretty tough, but I think we did well putting up a good fight,” junior defensive specialist Katie Haarmann said.
The Scots were able to take back their lead, but the Bears stayed determined through long rallies. Outstanding defense from Chou and junior defensive specialist Bella Schmitz created an opportunity for Moeller, who precisely tipped the ball over to put the score at 23-20 with Carlmont ahead.
The Bears’ attempts were insufficient, however, as the Scots came up with a block to wrap up the set 25-20.
The third set kicked off with a kill from Pang, but a contested call gave Carlmont the next point to even the score 1-1. Straight after, Pang smashed the ball down again to keep the Bears ahead.
Hustle from both sides of the court kept the ball alive, and the teams traded points. With a phenomenal save from senior defensive specialist Claire Gracia, Haarmann tracked down the ball and sent it from across the court to the other side to get a point to tie the score at 9-9.
The Bears maintained high energy and made impressive plays, keeping the score tight. With Chou at the service line and Howse running a powerful offense, King came up with three kills, putting M-A in the lead, 17-16.
“We were down a couple players, so I think [the goal] was to go out just as strong without them, and I think we had some good plays overall,” Gracia said.
After a few defensive errors, M-A called a timeout. Moeller delivered immediately after, scoring two kills to even the game again at 20-20.
The Scots continued to fight, earning points with effective hits and blocks of their own, and closed out the game with a setter dump, 25-23.
The Bears will face the Hillsdale Knights away on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.
Louisa King and Emerson Edwards are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
