By David Boldt
The Cooperative junior varsity girls volleyball team bested Cambridge in a contest that started off in epic fashion in the Jaguar gym Thursday, then ended in something of an anticlimax.
It will go down in the record books as a straight set victory for the Jaguars, but the opening set was one of the most closely contested at varsity or junior varsity level this year. The Jaguars finally won 27-25, but only after surviving a set point situation when Cambridge led 24-23 and was serving.
The set was played with a high degree of skill, particularly on defense, and was closely contested right from the start. Cooperative led 8-7 at the first mandatory time out. But after the break the Knights immediately knotted the score at 8-8, and neither held more than a two-point lead for the rest of the game.
The last tie was at 25-25, and the Jaguars achieved the final two points largely on the basis of two serves ripped in Natalia Medina.
Winning the first set charged up the Jaguars, and sharply deflated the Knights, who began making unforced errors of a sort that had been almost unknown in the first set, thus allowing the Jaguars to race out to an 18-8 lead.
The Knights seemed to steady themselves at this point, and actually outscored the Jaguars 8-7 over the remainder of the game, but the attempted comeback was too little, and too late. The Jaguars took the set 25-16 and won the match.
The Jaguars got outstanding play from team captain Naira Rodriguez who “served well and did a really good job, according to Coach Alvaro Ludueña. Andrea Chavez’ serving was another bright spot for the Jaguars.
The Knights were bolstered, particularly in the first set, by the all-around play of Paula Vallejo and Carolina Rea.
Griffins Beat Eagles In Straight Sets
Story to come...
