MVHS’ badminton team played its first match of the season on March 8, 2016. Competing against Gunn HS, varsity won the match with an overall score of 25 – 5, with 25 points for MVHS and five for GHS.
Highlights of Varsity 1 Mixed Doubles
Game 1
As the first game of varsity 1 mixed doubles began, senior Madeline Sporkert and sophomore Ethan Low stared nervously across the net at the Titans.
Sporkert and Low started the match with excitement, leading the beginning of the match with a score of 3-2. However, GHS managed to catch up after a smash, and started to lead the match.
For the next several rounds, GHS kept scoring while Sporkert and Low tried hard to take hold of the situation. Sporkert was all over the court and was able to save some fast drops, but the opponent quickly played a drive and scored when Sporkert failed to return it.
The game reached a turning point after Sporkert played a kill and improved the situation a bit by having a score of 7-11.
Sporkert and Low tried hard to chase up the score, resulting in many remarkable shots from the Matadors.
Low cleverly hit to an empty space of the opponents’ court and brought the score to 11-14, followed by a drop shot from Sporkert, earning another point.
However, due to the disadvantage of being behind five points earlier in the game, the Matadors lost the first game with a score of 17-21.
Game 2
After switching sides, Low and Sporkert got ready for the second game.
This time, they were able to continuously lead the match with the Titans trying their best to catch up.
At 2-3, with MVHS in the lead, the two sides entered a long seesaw battle, with both sides trying to smash but failing to end the rally. Finally, Sporkert executed a smash with great strength and earned a point for the Matadors.
The Titan pair became extremely worried about the situation, returning the birds with smashes that were not steep enough and resulted in two consecutive outs.
Low scored twice in a row with a kill and a drop shot.
Down 8-15, GHS attempted to score with a drop, but Sporkert reacted instantly and returned the bird without the opponents expecting it, further solidifying MVHS’ lead.
While GHS still stumbled to catch up to MVHS, the match concluded with a score of 21-12, for MVHS.
GAME 3
The final game arrived, and it would determine the outcome for the Matadors.
GHS first led the match with 2-0 when Low hit a clear out. Low came back with more strength and caught the score up to 4-4 with a smash. The Matadors continued to score till 10-4, when Sporkert accidentally returned a high clear and GHS gave out a fast smash.
Right after the interval, another seesaw match began. Both sides showed a great sense of consistency, but GHS hit the net at the end, bringing the score to 12-5 in the Matadors’ favor.
The Matadors scored continuously to 16-5, and Low and Sporkert became increasingly confident.
GHS did not give up and scored as much as they could manage. The determination worked and GHS scored six more points while MVHS scored three. The Titans returned the bird with two smashes, meanwhile the matadors also made some minor mistakes. The Matadors responded with unforced errors, as Low hit the net and Sporkert failed to save a drop shot. The audience was excited and nervous, as MVHS’ points remained at 19 while GHS’ rose from seven to 11.
Finally, Sporkert and Low did not let the opponents’ scoring trend influence them, and ended the match with a score of 21-11, resulting in a win for MVHS’ varsity 1 mixed doubles.
Video by Vijeet Chaugule
