Knights beat Eagles in mercurial match
From coaches' reports
The tide of battle made two dramatic changes during an epic struggle between Cambridge and Christian Learning, which the Knights eventually won two sets to one.
The first set was slam-bang, even-steven volleyball from start to finish, with the lead flipping back and forth between the two teams, and each point being decided only after long rallies.
The two teams tied at 24-24, and the Eagles prematurely celebrated victory when they took the next point, apparently forgetting they had to win by a margin of two. The teams then slugged it out for several more minutes, until Cambridge emerged on top, 28-26.
It was the closest game played in the league this year.
Then things started to go the Eagles' way, as they took the second set 25-20. And the game was not as close as the score might indicate. Christian Learning had Cambridge on the ropes at 24-15, at which point the Knights staged a five-point comeback before the Eagles got the final point.
But the momentum from that comeback seemed to carry over into the deciding rubber set. After a preliminary exchange of points that brought the score to 2-2, Cambridge ripped through to win 15-2. Most of the points were won on the distinctive toss-spin-WHAP! service of 9th grader Ana Saavedra.
As the Cambridge streak extended point-by-point,the Eagles became rattled and mistake-prone, while Cambridge played almost errorlessly, consistently setting up Nancy Jordan for artful returns that tended to find the open spot on the court. Andrea Saba, Vania Rueda, Helen Yong, and Mariana Escaño simply would not let the ball hit the floor on their side.
For the first time this year the Lady Knights played like the defending champions they are.
The Eagles were without the services of Sabrina Hallock, often their best spiker, who was out with the ankle injury that has been troubling her for much of the season. Cambridge was also missing a starting player.
Grtiffin Fabiana Murillo smacks back a return against Jaguars
Griffins cruise against visiting Jaguars
From coaches' reports
The undefeated International varsity girls volleyball team clinched first place with a convincing straight set victory over Co-operative in their home gym Thursday.
The only remaining hurdle in the Griffins pursuit of an unblemished regular season record is the game with Cambridge next week. Cambridge, the defending champions, have played inconsistently this season, and lost to International in their previous meeting, but the Lady Knights are the only team who have taken a set against the Griffin girls.
The Jaguar girls put up a decent fight against the Griffins in the first set, which International won 25-20. In the second set the Griffins gave no quarter and took no prisoners, rolling to victory 25-10.
