This past Monday, the girls’ volleyball team celebrated their Senior Night with a 3-0 sweep against Lynbrook. This season, the team only has one senior — middle Grace Lin, who has played all four years.
To begin the celebrations, the team gave Lin a basket full of various snacks and stuffed animals, while junior Aneiya Thomas, sophomores Sophia Wei and Loreen Lu and coach Lori Gragnola delivered speeches to commemorate Lin’s hard work throughout the years. Afterwards, the varsity team danced to “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé and JAY-Z.
The team is second in the El Camino league while Lynbrook was ranked 6th. This game decided whether or not the Falcons would maintain their second place rank.
For the first set, Lin, middle Aanya Hotha, setter Iris Jin, libero Morgan Li and outsides Sienna Baldwin and Chloe Zeng readied themselves on the court. The Falcons had a strong start with a strong spike by Hotha, followed by a spike from Baldwin immediately after. They led 3-1 until the Vikings regained composure and tied the score 9-9. However, the Falcons stood strong and slowly pulled ahead again after a spike from Jin gave them a lead.
The two teams alternated points, fighting for each one through long rallies. The Vikings upped the score to 17-15, but a kill from middle Rucha Patil and a serve by Zeng tied it again. As the score remained close, the Falcons pulled ahead point by point, with Lin spiking the set-winning point and ending the first set 25-21.
The Falcons felt confident going into the second set, which immediately paid off. Baldwin’s consecutive kills allowed the Falcons to pull ahead 3-0. However, a string of missed balls into the net gave the Vikings a chance to tie the score and eventually pull ahead.
Afterward, three kills from Zeng allowed the Falcons to take back the lead 12-8. A series of winners, starting with a tip by Patil, a dump by Hotha and a spike by Baldwin, finally gave the Falcons a 19-11 lead.
The Falcons’ momentum grew as they continued to score. Even against solid spikes by the Vikings, Li successfully forced Lynbrook to keep the ball in play. The Vikings eventually hit the ball out of bounds and the Falcons had a set point at 24-14. A good block by Patil and Jin and a final spike by Patil sealed the second set for the Falcons.
The third set started slowly for the Falcons; with consistent miscommunication and no one to receive the ball, the Vikings took a 4-2 lead.
The team regained focus and tied at 5-5 after sophomore setter Sophia Wei set the ball for a spike by Zeng. Wei’s serve then pushed the Vikings off the court, giving the Falcons a 7-5 lead.
Later, a solid set by Jin gave Hotha the opportunity to spike the ball and finish the point, bringing the score to 13-12 for the Falcons. Hotha further increased their lead to 19-13 through tips and two good serves. The Falcons maintained their lead and ended the set 25-18 after Wei set the ball for Jin who spiked the match point.
The win secured the Falcons second place in the league, bringing their record to 16-9. They ended their season with an 8-game winning streak.
“Our communication improved this game and raised our energy on the court which helped a lot,” Zeng said. “It was a good way to end our senior night.”
Currently, the team is projected to go to CCS, with final results coming out in late October.
