Varsity Girls Volleyball Finals

Griffins Fend Off Jaguars to Win 1st Place
By Sung Eun Song, SCIS

The undefeated International girls varsity volleyball team preserved its perfect season, winning the league championship played Tuesday at their home gym. The Griffin girls turned in a finely crafted, flawless performance as it defeated Cooperative girls in straight sets 25-9, 25-23. They polished their effective technique and well-organized teamwork without the stress of worrying about losing.

In the first set, Pamela Suarez from International led the Griffins early dominance, making a quick forward dash to the service line. She hit the ball hard to make it either spin and fly with astonishing speed. She scored four points solely from her service aces, giving the Griffins’ an early lead of 6-1. Maria Victoria Gutierrez also contributed to the Griffins’ lead, expertly tipping the ball to vulnerable spots of Cooperative. For the Jaguars, Carla Limpias and Ana Paola Peredo stood out for their brilliant performances. Carla showed several full-forced smashes with the precision of a surgeon, aggressively threatening the Griffin girls. Ana Paola also played well with her artful sets and tactical attacks. However, this was not enough to catch up with the Griffins. The Griffins gradually widened the score gap till 16-6, finally making the Jaguar girls call for timeout. After the timeout, both teams played even more aggressively. This time, the star player was Beatriz Nallar from International, who was able to flexibly control her attack-style. It seemed like she knows when to fire strong spikes, and when to just lightly hit the ball over the net. With her great help, the Griffin girls widened the gap to 15 points at 24-9. Finally, with an exquisite spike from Maria Victoria Gutierrez, the Griffins won the first set at 25-9.

In the second set, it was Cooperative's turn to jump out to the early lead. Rallied by the accurate attacks and steady defense, the Jaguars took dominance with a 7-0 lead. It seemed as though the Jaguar girls had learned how to deal with the Griffins attacks completely. Jaguar Ana Paola Peredo played excellent defense, blocking several shots at the net. She also powered shots from beyond normal outside hitter range and Luciana Adriazola and Maria Paula Aguirre were able to collect any other loose balls. However, at the point where the score reached 9-2, the Griffins started a slow process of climbing back. They began to show an athletic and disciplined manner, scoring from multiple positions and defending fiercely from sideline to sideline. Throw in Ciara Harriagure and sophomore Diana Paola and stir in seniors Beatriz Nallar and Maria Victoria Gutierrez and the pot was boiling over with a recipe for success. Furthermore, somehow being distracted by the counterattack from the Griffins, the Jaguar girls made several mistakes; they served poorly and let balls fall between players because of miscommunication. International fought back steadily and eventually knotted the score at 15-15, at which point the large group of Griffin fans simply stood up and screamed. Encouraged by this enthusiastic crowd, the Griffin girls came out with some daring plays, sometimes setting the ball from one side of the court to the other. The rest of the game was a continuation of relentless battle between two strong teams. The score tied three more times at 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23. Finally, a service ace from Maria Victoria and a strong spike from Fernanda Gutierrez gave Griffins a match victory and the first place trophy.

Knights Edge Past Eagles for 3rd Place

By Larissa M. Dagnoni, CC

Cambridge girls varsity volleyball team defeated Christian Learning on Tuesday in the playoff consolation game at International, winning in two sets, and taking the third place medals that came with the victory.

The tension between the two teams could not be missed when they started their warm-ups at 2 p.m. The game started with a big cheer coming from the Eagles crowd. Cambridge was missing a similar multitude, but that didn’t stop those who were there from loud screams to pump up the Knights.

The first set was totally owned by the Knights. They started by scoring 4 straights points, and throughout the game they kept attacking. They got great serves by Valeria la Torre, and unbeatable defense from Mariel Palacios, It seemed apparent early that the first set was going to be won by the Lady Knights, and that was what  happened 25-15.

This set showed all the talent that the Cambridge team had -- good communication, great team work, and good vibration coming from the players.

When the second set started the Knights players were confident, but they were taken by surprise when the Eagles went ahead and took the lead by six points, 16-10. It seemed that the Eagles were not letting the third place get away that easily.

 This set was an intense one, with both teams were working harder than ever, with the Knights trying to finish off the match, and the Eagle team trying to win the set to have a second chance at victory in a tie-breaking third set.

It seemed impossible for the Cambridge team to get back into the game, but as impossible as it sounded, and with all the pressure being brought to bear on them, the Knights girls were able to settle down and play as they had in the first set.

The Knights worked their way back, point by point, until they tied the game up at 22-22. Thanks to smart plays of Knight Palacios and great defense from Eagle Rebekah Kienzle the game became a rollercoaster of emotion. It was impossible to predict which team was going to win, as the teams traded points.

When the scoreboard showed 24-24, the entire gym seemed to be cheering for the Eagle team, but it was the Lady Knights that scored the next two points, to win the set, 26-24, and take the match.

Knight players Vanesa Flores, and La Torre took home Cambridge’s MVP awards, and for the Eagles the most valuable player was Natalia Eguez.

It was a good finish to the season for both teams, with both showing great hard work as well as obvious improvement.