Neck and neck, girls volleyball beats Mountain View
In their only rivalry game of the season, the varsity girls volleyball team beat Mountain View High School 3–2 on Friday, April 9.
According to co-captain senior Valentina Chang, the Eagles had hoped for an easier win against the Spartans in their match because some MVHS seniors could not attend due to a conflicting tournament. However, MVHS refused to go down without a fight.
“I think we came in a little too confident, which kind of hurt us in the end,” Valentina said.
The Eagles and Spartans went back and forth for most of the first set, with the Eagles landing a narrow lead near the end. However, this lead was endangered when MVHS gained a point on a serve and two LAHS players dove for the same ball. Ultimately, co-captain junior Emma Symon ended the set with a hard-hit kill to secure the Eagles’ 25–21 victory.
Sophomore Cambria Cook kicked off the second set with a forceful kill, which propelled the Eagles to a 4–0 lead. By the end of the set, MVHS trailed by just three points behind LAHS. Perhaps sensing this, co-captain junior Carolyn Dormady put an end to the Spartans’ last-minute fight with a strong kill, ending the pursuit at 25–21.
The third set got off to a rocky start for LAHS. The Spartans were awarded the first point on their serve, and the Eagles accidentally aided them through two wild hits: one that went out of bounds and another that hit the ceiling. The Eagles’ attempted comeback was derailed by unlucky mistakes and missed communications.
The Spartans won the third set 25–13 and the fourth set 25–17. The two teams were now tied with two sets each. The beginning of the fifth set followed the pattern established throughout the match, with MVHS and LAHS neck and neck. At last, MVHS called a time out with LAHS in the lead at 10–8. From the sidelines, Carolyn exclaimed to her teammates, “We want this so let’s go f*cking get it!”
Minutes after Carolyn’s rousing cheer, the Eagles were down 14–11. Rather than give up, though, the Eagles put up a strong defense with a block from Carolyn and a dual block from Valentina and Cambria, bringing themselves up to a 14–14 tie. They scraped a win at 16–14 with two aces from Carolyn, giving them the majority needed to win the match.
“I’m just really proud that we were able to fight and finish strong,” Valentina said.
The Eagles, undefeated so far and seeded first in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL), are set to face Palo Alto High School in a home game today at 7:15 p.m.
“I know they’re a really tough team, so we’re going to need to come out fighting again,” Emma said.
