On the weekend of Sept. 1, the girls volleyball team traveled to Reno, NV to participate in the High Sierra Tournament. The team finished in third place overall out of more than 60 schools.
“I think it went really well,” sophomore Maria Balus said. “We don’t have the height necessarily, but we came out strong and I think we did really well.”
Junior Beverly Yu was also chosen as part of the All-Tournament team, a group of girls who played the best in the tournament.
“It was mainly a team effort. My team gave me the opportunity to be able to get the award,” Yu said. “I should really give all the credit to my team.”
To continue their winning streak, MVHS dominated Wilcox High School in their first regular season game on Sept. 5, defeating them 3-0 with scores of 25-8, 25-21, and 25-17. Senior and co-captain Serena Chew served — aces, bringing them to a 9-0 lead in the first set. There were few rallies, as MVHS put the the ball away and did not lose focus. WHS gained some momentum near the end of the first set, but the girls finished on a strong run.
In the second set, the girls tightened up. However, with the game tied at 7-7 early on, the team struggled to get into rhythm. Despite this, the starters pulled together and brought the team‘s focus back onto each individual point, pushing for a 15-10 lead. The atmosphere around the court intensified as the Chargers made a comeback, but MVHS won 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.
“[Coach Colin] Anderson switched up the lineup a little bit, and because we did so badly in the second game, it motivated us to do better in the third,” co-captain senior Allison Yu said. “I think MVHS is a lot better of a team than [this game] showed.”
To begin the third set, the girls powered through to take a strong 19-9 lead. Making runs and minimal mistakes, they cruised to a 25-17 win.
“I feel like we definitely could have done a lot better,” Allison Yu said. “We played down to their level and next time, I think we need to maintain our level of play. Otherwise, a game like this could go down again, and we won’t be prepared to make a comeback.”
The Matadors’ first league game will be on Sept. 18 against Homestead High School.
On Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 at 1:59 pm a correction was made. Maria Balus is a sophomore.
