JV Girls Volleyball Championships

Griffins Overwhelm Jaguars to Earn 1st Place
By Sung Eun Song

The Santa Cruz International School JV girls volleyball team earned an overwhelming victory over the Cooperative team in the championship game held at the International gym on Tuesday; the Griffins chalked up a straight sets victory 25-14, 25-17. The International team preserved its perfect season, maintaining their unbeaten record. They showed all the capacity and passion that anyone would expect of a champion.

In the beginning of the opening set, the two teams had battled evenly, fighting each other point-by-point. From the very beginning of the match, Griffins Ciara Harriague and Pamela Suarez attempted several strong attacks to get the drop on the Jaguars. But the Jaguars also stayed alert with Flavia Gutierrez scoring consecutive two service aces. The game proceeded like this with teams taking turns in the lead. But after the score had reached 6-6, the Griffins exploded with an 11-point scoring streak, widening the gap to 17-6.

There was no doubt that both the Griffins and Jaguars showed superb and powerful play throughout the game. They both had strong attackers who repeatedly fired unblockable spikes and amazing serves with intense power. Therefore, in this championship game, what put one team above the other was not the power but the delicacy. And the Griffin girls’ attention to detail put them ahead..

In the middle of the first set, there was one breathtaking moment performed by the Griffins when one of the Jaguars smashed a strong spike towards the backward of the Griffins side. The ball nearly hit the ground, but Fernanda Gutierrez narrowly kept it alive, lunging to the floor in her effort to reach it. Then Camila Barrientos, who was right next to Fernanda, urgently hit the ball at maximum power toward Ciara Harriague, who was near the net but on the floor. Dramatically, Harriague, still in her fallen position, hit the ball hard up towards the net. To her surprise, the ball slipped over to the Cooperative side of the net. The audience applauded the amazing teamwork of the Griffin girls, and the energized Griffins were able to maintain their lead for the rest of the game. Finally, after a ball handling error by a Jaguar, the Griffin girls took advantage of the moment and went on to win the set 25-17.

For the Griffins, the game spotlighted the new appearance of Camila Barrientos, a small girl who revealed her hidden playing capacity. Despite her small frame, Camila greatly contributed to the Griffins victory, displaying both persistency and concentration. She made several important digs as well as multiple accurate attacks.

In the second set, the Griffin girls changed the tide once again with a shift to a more aggressive play style. With momentum on their side, the Griffins bolted out an early 11-0 lead; the service aces from Ciara Harriague accounted for six of these eleven points. The Jaguars then began to claw their way back. Fabiana Andrade attempted several spikes, connecting some of them to scores for Jaguars. She also made a point from a service ace. Another Jaguar standout was Andrea Chavez, who consistently blocked the Griffins’ strong spikes. Maintaining steady position, Andrea made many saves, providing Jaguars with opportunities to attack. However, they could not overcome the stellar defensive efforts made by Griffins. Finally, the Griffins ended the second set 25-17 to clinch the match and take the championship trophy.

Eagles Defeat Knights for 3rd Place Finish
By Larissa M. Dagnoni

Christian Learning girls junior varsity volleyball team defeated Cambridge Tuesday afternoon at International, winning both sets by a score of 25-15, and thereby achieving third place in the League.

This was a decisive game, because both teams were playing to win a medal.  The Eagle girls started the game with a big cheering scream, pumping up the crowd present at the gym, which was made up mainly of Christian Learning parents and friends. The Knight girls in the other hand seemed like they were a bit abashed and withdrawn, and were not showing much of an attitude at the beginning of the game.

The first point of the set was scored by Cambridge player Carla Rea, but the Eagles didn't let the enthusiasm of scoring the first point carry the Knights too far. They responded right away, and quickly got a couple of points ahead. The Eagles were playing with their ‘‘head in the game'' and seemed that the word losing was not in their vocabulary.

 When Eagle player LuanaVelarde stepped to serve the ball, point after point was scored for the Eagles. She was a big girl and was hitting strong and accurate shots. Her service was a key element the Eagles needed to win first set by a ten-point advantage, 25-15.

 The second set continued the same pattern.  The Eagles scored the first 3 points straight up, but it seemed that the lady Knights, after Coach Eduardo “Presi” de la Riva talked to them during a timeout started to communicate better and move around the court. They played better compared to the first set.

The new Cambridge attitude changed the complexion of the game, which was tied up for a while. But the pattern of the match was set. It could almost be predicted that this game already had a winning team, and it wouldn’t be Cambridge. . Great teamwork from Eagles Velarde, and Emily Ordoñez helped the Eagles get the points they needed to win. The final score was again 25-15.

 Christian Learning JV volleyball girls won the well-deserved third place on the league. Congratulations to coach Misty Lopez and her team.

After the game ended medals were giving to the winning team and diplomas recognizing Cambridge players Paola Oliva and Denisse Navallo as “valuable players” were given.