A balance of wins and losses result in a near tie with Gunn
The Matadors beat Gunn High School in a close win on April 5 and have continued to go undefeated in their league season. With a special lineup against Gunn, varsity singles players were moved to play doubles against Gunn, which had a very strong doubles lineup.
V1 Girls Doubles: MVHS junior Jessica Dinh and freshman Stephanie Lam lose to Catherine Wu and Linda Zhang (10-15, 11-15)
Dinh and Lam started off their game on a strong note, but Wu and Zhang quickly took control by pushing Dinh back and forth in the backcourt. A few bad drops and missed smashes from MVHS let Gunn take the first game 10-15.
“[Wu and Zhang] aimed for my partner a lot, so I wasn’t really able to help,” freshmen Lam said. “This was the first time playing together, so our rotation wasn’t really set yet and we were still a little confused.”
The second game started with Dinh and Lam trailing behind. A variety of shots let the opponents easily push the shuttlecock into empty corners on the Matadors’ court to end the game 11-15 and win the set 0-2.
V2 Boys Doubles: MVHS seniors Robert Lee and Andy Syang beat Kaji Hahu and Brian Lin (15-10, 15-8)
Lee and Syang dominated the first game with continuous smashes that pushed Hahu and Lin backcourt and leaving gaps in the Gunn defense. A few serves and mistimed smashes gave the Titans a few points, but Lee and Syang were able to take the first game relatively easily with a score of 15-10.
“[I think we won] mostly because of teamwork,” senior Syang said. “We were able to cover the whole court, and in the end, we won.”
During the second game, Lee and Syang continued to smash the shuttlecock into the holes in Hahu’s and Lin’s rotation. Strong net plays by the Matadors won the second set 15-8 to finish off the match quickly at 2-0.
V2 Mixed: MVHS junior Sam Jiang and sophomore Krystal Ng beat Joseph Lin and Sophia Jiang (14-17, 15-7, 17-14)
Although initially the Matadors were able to start off the set strong, missed shots and bad rotation ultimately let Lin and Jiang of Gunn take the first game 14-17. The second game was the turning point for Jiang and Ng as their improved teamwork and momentum carried them to win 15-7 and split the set for a tense third game.
“It was really nerve-wrecking because we had to get every single shot,” Ng said. “Throughout the whole game I was [telling myself to calm down].”
Jiang and Ng started the third game trailing behind Gunn due to missed shots as Gunn pulled ahead early on to 5-13. The Matadors were able to make a huge comeback from that score with a focus on attacking the net player and raised their score up to 11-14. The Matadors were able to finally win the game 17-14 after capitalizing on Gunn’s out-of-bounds hits.
MVHS will be playing Lynbrook at MVHS on April 12.
