The ball flew into the air off senior Derrick Chiu‘s set to junior Ryan Manley for a spike to begin the third set. The Vikings were unable to anticipate the attack and blocked it out, much like they had for most of the MVHS boys volleyball game against Lynbrook on March 15.
Manley’s attack was one of many that sealed a victory for the Matadors, contributing to a solid 3-0 win for the Matadors (25-12, 25-20, 25-20).
“The coach really wanted us to be more consistent, so we did that,” junior Andrew Song said. “[He wanted us] to get our serves in and just play smart.”
During the first set, many of the Matadors’ jump serves faulted, not making it over the net. However, multiple fakes kept LHS reeling, helping MVHS win 25-12. MVHS was quick on the return, while LHS struggled defensively and was slow to recover.
“We just kind of played all around,” Chiu said. “We took care of business; we beat them, just fundamentally.”
In the second set, MVHS started out aggressively, with two quick attacks from junior Ryan Bishop. The Vikings kept setting off the ball on defense rather than digging, allowing MVHS to counter quickly. Chiu served three aces in a row until the Matadors briefly floundered, allowing LHS to close the gap in the score from 15-8 to 16-12.
The matadors were able to punish the Viking’s repetitive hitting patterns and recovered. They won the second set 25-20.
Manley made two quick kills to start the third set. However, a few minutes in, MVHS and LHS were tied at 9-9, and LHS began to slowly catch up.
The Matadors came back with another kill by Manley, tying the score at 12-12. The Matadors steadily gained points from there, while the Vikings had a difficult time countering.
The game ended when LHS hit the ball out, allowing the Matadors to win 25-20.
According Chiu, MVHS has been slacking recently despite the win, and hopes to clean up their game for their next game.
“We have to come out and play better volleyball than we have been before,” said Chiu. “We have to clean up a lot of unforced errors and just come out and play better.”
