Griffins, Jaguars Dominate in JV Volleyball Semis

Knights Nearly Upset Jaguars, Griffins Breeze Past Eagles
By Trevor Reed, Jesse Mann, and David Boldt

     The Cooperative JV boys volleyball team advanced to the finals yesterday after narrowly defeating the Knights in three hotly-contested sets. From the outset neither team could gain a significant advantage or lead over the other, resulting in three very close, intense matches.

     Both the Knights and the Jaguars excelled in controlling the volleyball and spiking it back to their opponents with fervor, but an extremely low serving accuracy plagued both teams and prevented any considerable scoring drives. The first set saw the teams trade points until the scoreboard read 22-22, when at last three well placed serves by Jaguar Rodrigo Chavez gave Cooperative a 25-22 win.

     The Jaguars kept this momentum going and ultimately pulled ahead of the Knights in the second set 12-6. At this crucial point the Knights rallied, and spurred on by the cries of encouragement from their fans, doggedly combated the Jaguars in several long volleys that finally tied the score 19-19. Both teams competed fiercely for the remaining six point needed for victory, and after some impressive spikes and serves on both sides the score once again stood tied at 22-22. Here the Knights finally took command, and after an excruciatingly long volley that put them ahead 23-22, they decisively finished the match with a final score of 25-23.

     The third set closely resembled the first as both teams traded points and defiantly refused the other side any advantage. With the score tied 9-9, Jaguar Raul Valle swiftly spiked the ball directly off a Cambridge return to put the Jaguars in the lead. The Knights responded in kind about a minute later when Daniel Kirigin ruthlessly smacked the ball over the net and succeeded in once again tying the score. This competitive battle for points continued, until the Jaguars managed to pull away from the Knights and establish a firm 14-11 lead. Desperate not to let their foe slip away from them, the Knights returned a Jaguar serve, leaving the outcome of the match in question until the end. Down 14-12, the Knights needed a flawless three point scoring drive to stay in the match. Unfortunately Cambridge was robbed of any opportunity for a comeback when the last serve failed to clear the net. The Jaguars celebrated their survival against the Knights with wild enthusiasm, but will have to step up their game considerably if they want to defeat the Griffins for a trophy.

     The playoff game between the International JV boys volleyball team and the Christian Learning Center was not nearly as close. From the beginning, it was apparent that the Eagles were at a serious size disadvantage. Also, the fact that they only had one substitute player while the Griffin bench was bustling with eager players, made the Eagles' plight even more desperate. 

     Right off the bat both teams were able to score a few points, and the score rose to 2-2. Then, the Griffins took control with excellent serving from many of their players to gain a 7-3 lead. The Griffins continued with great spiking and widened their lead to six points. The Eagles did make a good effort to return the Griffin spikes, but many of the well placed shots were un-returnable. As a result, almost all of the Eagle points came from failed Griffin serves or missed spikes. A few good volleys between the two teams showed that the Eagles could compete with the Griffins, but it was not enough. The Griffins widened their lead even more, eventually winning the set 25-6.

     The second set started off with the Griffins full of enthusiasm, and they soon had a 12-3 lead. They continued to dominate, scoring 12 more points while only allowing the Eagles to score one. The score was at 24-4, and the Griffins were ready to finish the Eagles off. However, the Eagles didn't give up, and they managed to go on a 5-0 scoring streak before the Griffins finally finished them off with a score of 25-9.

Griffin and Jaguar Girls Fight Their Way to the Championship Match

     Cooperative won its way to the finals in a tough two-set match in which Christian Learning never gave up, and frequently threatened to take over the lead. The two teams battled on even terms through the first half of the first set, with Cooperative leading 11-9 at the approximate halfway point, and clinging to that narrow two-point margin through 15-13.

     The complexion of the set changed, however, when Fabiana Andrade went to the service line and began firing bullets over the net.  Cooperative took the next seven points and held a 22-13 lead.  Christian Learning tried to rally but the set was now out of reach and the Jaguars prevailed 25-17, with the last point coming anti-climactically on a service error.

     The Jaguars jumped off to a 5-0 lead in the second set, again benefitting from Andrade’s strong serving, but the Lady Eagles gradually clawed their way back and knotted the score at 10-10. The teams more or less matched points until 21-21, when the Jaguars moved ahead 23-21 thanks in large part to three good serves by Flavia Gutierrez.

     The Eagles finally broke her serve, but the reprieve was brief, and the Jaguars took the set 25-22, with the final point coming on a strong serve by Natalia Medina that the Eagles couldn’t handle.

The game was distinguished by several long rallies, and was played at a higher competitive level than the earlier meetings between the two teams that had also been close, but in which the points were usually decided by shorter rallies.

     International had much less trouble disposing of Cambridge in their playoff match. The Griffins took the lead 8-3in the early stage of the first set, and they did it even though Cambridge was playing well. Just not quite well enough. Cambridge then seemed to hold its own for a while, benefitting, among other things, from four consecutive bad serves by International.

     However, International was able to hang onto a four- to six-point lead until the score reached 19-15. At that point Ciara Harriague took over the serving for International, helping her team mightily as the Griffins ran off six straight points to take the set 25-15, with several of the points coming on service aces.

     In the second set Cambridge was able to play the Griffins on an even basis through a tie at 12-12, at which point International surged ahead, with the crucial series of serves coming from Pamela Suarez this time. Cambridge only managed two more points in the remainder of the game, which International won 25-14.

     This game too was marked by long rallies and fine play on both sides. Cambridge probably played well enough to have won many games, but couldn’t match International’s consistency and powerful play when the contest went into its crucial closing phases.