As Lowell had a very small team of 25 girls and seven boys, some of the varsity players of the MVHS team did not attend.

Freshman Stephanie Lam (MVHS) beats freshman Cally Chung (Lowell), 22-20 (rally scoring)
Lam dominated the game quickly against Chung, pulling a slight advantage at the half-way mark. However, a few out-of-bound serves and shots kept Lam from capitalizing on Chung’s mistakes throughout the first half and allowed Chung to rally back to 11-7 before switching sides.

In the second half, nice drops from both sides kept the score extremely close as the match progressed. A few mistakes and mistimed shots let Chung catch up at 20-20. However, Lam was still able to regain momentum and pulled a close win at 22-20.

“I [found] the gym to have a different feel,” Lam said. “[But], I just kept [Chung] running around the court.”

Junior Rachel Chiou and freshman Nancy Chang (MVHS) lose to junior Jenny Wong and senior Christina Chu (Lowell), 15-21 (rally scoring)

Chang and Chiou started the game out strong, keeping the score close between the two sidesup to the halfway point. A few short rallies kept the game quick, and both sides were successful in keeping the other side moving around the court. They switched sides with Chiou and Chang trailing 10-11.

Missed shots by the Matadors gave Lowell a strong lead into the second half. Chiou and Chang were not able to keep up, with both Lowell players focused on attacking Chiou during the rallies, as Tang was more successful with her smashes during the rallies. As a result, Lowell was able to pull out a win at 15-21.

Senior Michelle Yang and sophomore Erika Sporkert (MVHS) beat senior Oriana Chiu and senior Meiling Tay (Lowell), 21-11 (service scoring)

Although they were off to a slow 1-5 start, Yang and Sporkert quickly caught up at 5-5 and were able to keep the score close up to the half-way point. However, small errors in their smashes allowed Lowell to stay within scoring distance. The two sides switched courts at 11-10.

“We had really good rallies but we kept hitting the net,” Yang said. “[But in the second half], we were able to overcome that and [Sporkert] and I were able to start playing smart.”

During the second half, Yang and Sporkert were finally able to hold their momentum with accurate drops and smashes. The two went on to win the game 21-11.