Varsity Girls Volleyball - September 29

Knights Defenseless Against Jaguar Attacks
By Lucia Landivar, SCCS

      The Cooperative girls varsity volleyball team triumphed over the Cambridge College girls 2-0 in a game played on Thursday afternoon in the SCCS coliseum. Even though there were at most three SCCS spectators in the gym, the Jaguars managed to overcome the lack of crowd support, winning consecutive sets 25-11 and 25-17.

     This game was particularly important for the Jaguar volleyball team, since Coach Rolando Cabrera was testing star player Sofia Sotelo’s skills in her first game of the year. She had been sidelined for the first half of the season due to a knee injury. The Jaguars had no problem defeating the Knights in the past, so having Sofia play right after her recovery did not seem like much of a risk.

      She played well during the first set in her accustomed role as setter. Sotelo was impressive from the service line as well. Her serves looked effortless, but came over the net as fast as bullets, often planting the ball straight onto the Knight’s side of the court for aces. . 

     The game started off with Diana Mendez from the Knights serving for her team and scoring the first point of the game for the Knights. Cooperative then struck back, easily scoring four points straight with Maria Velasco’s serves, moving into to a 6-2 lead.

     The Jaguars were smiling and radiating confidence, though the Knights had their moments as well. Knight Cheimi Kayaka managed to smack the ball hard and straight into the ground of Jaguar territory to score, but the rest of the Knights had trouble matching her superb spikes, and instead bumped into each other, missed passes, and failed to respond effectively to Jaguar serves. When the Knights did manage a hard-hit return, it was often too hard-hit. The Knights were constantly hitting the ball out of bounds throughout the first set.

     Mendez’s serves scored a couple of points for her Knights, helping them to gain enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the harder Cambridge struggled, the tenser and more nervous their players became. Meanwhile, the Cooperative girls were enjoying themselves, and seemingly could do no wrong. Velasco from the Jaguars threw herself to the ground to score points, while the Knights slipped on the court while trying to make similar saves. The Knights also had a problem with hitting the net when they tried to put the ball away.

       Luciana Adriazola’s cross-court service ace into an empty space provided the last point of the first set, with the Jaguars winning 25 to 11.

      Jaguar Ana Peredo started off the second set serving for the Jaguars and scoring two points straight off for her team. The Knights were still struggling, but with more success, and managed to tie the score 3 to 3. There were several long rallies in which the ball seemed to survive many Jaguar smacks and strikes as the Cambridge defense became more cohesive.

        Diana Mendez from the Knights tied the score again at 6 to 6 after scoring two straight points on her serves.  But it seemed as though the Knights could not handle the excitement, and they seemed to lose focus again. They lost seven points due mainly to foolish mistakes in passing and lack of communication. Cooperative now a commanding lead 14 to 7, but they continued scoring as if the game was just a casual stroll through the park.

      Newcomer Fabiana Pena from the Jaguars served seven times straight with no worries. The Knights tried to defend their kingdom, but their players had already missed too many serves and passes, and even after a late rally the Jaguars held a 23-17 lead.

      Jaguar Carla Limpias delivered two lightning-like serves to close out the match.  The “lightning bolts” weren’t touched by Cambridge, but rather came down in Knight territory with great power, giving the Jaguars a 25 to 17 win. The Jaguars chanted and clapped their hands to celebrate their win before the two teams shook hands and left the stadium.

Griffins Squash Eagles In Straight Sets

Story to come...