Girls volleyball made their return to Ayers Gym Tuesday facing off against rivals, the Sacred Heart Gators. Although the lady Bears lost all three sets, the final two were nail bitingly close, with SHP winning the final match 25-23.
M-A started strong with Junior Anna Ryan scoring the home team’s first point of the night. One notable moment was when Senior Bridget Gray tied the match with her short tip over the net that caught the Gators off guard. After a long first set, SHP came out on top, winning 25-14.
The Gators quickly took the lead in the second set, but that didn’t stop the Bears. They came back and gained a 5-3 lead with help from their freshman star Meki Maile, whose powerful hits won multiple “she’s a freshman” chants from her team and the crowd. After an extremely close set, Sacred Heart won 25-23.
At the beginning of the third set, the Bears’ became more aggressive. They scored the first points of the set, helping them to gain a short-lived lead on the Gators. After hard fighting on both parts, SHP was able to tie the score 15-15 after much back and forth. The Gators took the third set 25-23, winning them the match.
Despite the loss, the spirit of the M-A players was left untouched. Freshman Aria Sokol said, “We put in our best effort and that’s what’s most important. We know what we’re doing, but we just need to find a way to have our feet and minds work together better. Our energy though was great.”
Senior Adrianna Tokic said, “we will try to cover the block a little bit better and go into the game with a more positive and energetic attitude.”
