The girls varsity volleyball team defeats Santa Clara High School in its seventh league game
On Thursday, Oct. 15, the girls varsity volleyball team played its seventh game of the season against Santa Clara High School at home. Because the Santa Clara Bruins and the Matadors had some strong games last year, the girls were expecting some tough competition.
The girls began their first game with a slightly rough start.
"We didn’t start out strong. We made a lot of mistakes, like missing a lot of serves, and we were just sloppy all around," coach Colin Anderson said.
But towards the end of the first game, the Matadors stepped up their game and began an onslaught of offensive plays. Despite a recent injury to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), junior Alex Chiu was an unstoppable force with her consistently powerful spikes and strong blocks alongside her teammate sophomore Stephanie Zhang.
By the time the second timeout of the game was called by the Matadors, the score was 18-16, with the Matadors barely leading by two points. But with their teammates on the sidelines, constantly encouraging them to "pick it up!", the Matadors were relentless in both their hitting and blocking game. Along with senior Nicole Dao’s aggressive spikes, a few other lady Matadors picked up the slack with a few aces of their own, which helped lead the girls to victory in their first game with a close score of 25-20.
In the second game, freshman Serena Chew went on a serving-spree. After sending the ball sailing over the net eight times in a row, Chew left Santa Clara’s libero grunting with frustration over her untouchable serves.
Chiu also continued delivering her powerful spikes, with a few tips here and there. She also teamed up with junior Jennifer Wang to create an impenetrable defensive barrier.
After the Bruins scored three points in a row, sophomore Savannah Day ended their run with two kills, and Justine Urauchi served an ace, scoring another point for the Matadors.
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Despite the occasional sloppy defense moves made by the Matadors, the Bruins’ even weaker defense allowed for MVHS to dominate them throughout the second game with an upsetting final score of 25-10.
Dao started off the third game with a spike, and within a few minutes led the Matadors to a favorable score of 4-1. After their disappointing performance during the second game, the Bruins tried to pick up their defense and managed to hit a few strong spikes, but they were no match for Day’s kills and junior Lucia Lin and senior Angela Moe’s net-skimming serves. The Matadors beat the Bruins with a score of 25-13 after Day’s winning kill.
Despite the recent injuries that have plagued the volleyball team and caused them to lose several of their key players, this win proved that the girls have been able to keep the team together and thrive.
"Everyone’s really stepping up the game to cover for the injured players who are out," captain senior Victoria Lee said, as she sat injured on the sidelines rooting for her teammates. "It also helps that everyone is really bonded as a team; we don’t get mad at each other, but at the same time, we’re able to be blunt with each other so we can tell each other what exactly we’re doing wrong, and how we can improve."
After this game against Santa Clara, hopes for reaching CCS seem to be heightening.
"If we continue to play well, we can go far," coach Anderson said.
The Matadors next game will be away on Tuesday, Oct. 19 against Cupertino High School.
