The girls’ volleyball team beat their crosstown rival, the Menlo Knights, in four sets–25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22–on Tuesday afternoon.
“They are one of our biggest rivals, so there is a lot of excitement every year. It’s been a series running for almost a decade, with both teams playing back and forth.” Varsity coach Denny Falls said.
The Bears started off strong with impressive blocks by junior outside hitter Sophie Marks and numerous kills and attacks by senior outside hitter Jocelyn Chang.
“I think today the middles did really well, along with our outside hitters who hit a lot of really great shots and were playing really smart,” Chang said.
After a tactical tip by Marks to set the score at 12-11, the Bears went on a hot streak packed with aggressive kills, blocks, and tips. A spike by Chang closed the first set 25-20 in dominant fashion after Menlo continued to struggle against the Bears relentless offensive pressure.
The second set started off neck and neck with even more spikes from Chang, setting the score at 7-7. However, momentum shifted when a missed serve by Menlo gave the Bears the lead, causing the student section to erupt.
Efficient communication by Menlo had the Bears down 23-19, and unfortunately, the Bears could not come back, losing the second set 25-19.
“We were struggling with serving, running some plays, and finding out how we could score more points, ” Chang said.
Menlo carried their momentum into the third set with multiple blocks to set the Bears back 9-7. However, senior middle blocker Kayla Greenbaum hammered a spike that reset the tone, and the Bears battled back to a 13-11 lead. M-A proceeded to go on a run, keeping spirits high and expanding their lead to 17-12. Chang continued to assert dominance over Menlo with even more kills, and paired with strong communication, led the Bears to win the set 25-18.
The Bears struggled at the beginning of the fourth set with multiple hitting errors, but regained their previous momentum, and a block by Chang gave them an 11-10 lead. After a timeout, the team was hyped up and ready to attack. An ace by Forcier-Koranda left the Bears at match point, and they pulled through with a triumphant 25-22 win to end the match.
“I think we had some moments where our energy wavered, but we were able to come back from that, and that really helped us. We just were really solid today at the net, blocking and hitting wise.” Chang said.
The Bears will return home to play Sacred Heart Prep on Tuesday at 6:00 P.M.
*Louisa King is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
