Varsity Volleyball Kicks Off Preseason, Will Host Branson on Thursday


On Tuesday, the Acalanes Dons varsity volleyball team hosted Archie Williams (formerly Drake) High
School in the Dons’ first preseason match.


With senior Rachel Zhang serving, the Dons got off to a 1-0 lead. After a sideout, senior Emma Johnson
served up on ace for a 2-1 lead. The Dons fell behind but juniors Ryann Jones and Katelyn Olin had back
to back kills to tie it up at 5 and then Johnson delivered a back row kill for a 6-5 lead.

The Dons fell slightly behind but the momentum turned when Olin and fellow junior Hanna Hageboeck
combined on a block to make it 15-17. Hageboeck followed that up with a kill and an ace, and Olin’s kill
gave the Dons an 18-17 lead. After Jones’ kill made it 19-17, Olin dominated the net for the rest of the
game with a block and three kills, including the game winner, to give the Dons a 25-17 win in the first
game.


In the second game, Hageboeck got the Dons on the board with a kill to make it 1-2. Jones started the
Dons on a run with a tip, followed by two aces from Hageboeck, giving the Dons a 5-4 lead. Hageboeck
registered another kill to start another run for the Dons. Senior Aly Kirke’s kill, followed by an ace from
senior Kira Wood made it 8-5. Johnson and Kirke then teamed up to block an attempted kill, and Kirke
killed an overpass and won a jump ball at the net to give the Dons a 10-5 lead. Kirke and Olin had a
number of kills off the overpasses, usually the result of effective serving from junior libero Lyanne Wang,
Wood and Zhang.


Archie Williams countered with a run of its own, and the Dons were down 13-17. Hageboeck’s kill and an
ace from Olin brought the Dons within 2, 15-17. Kirke’s tip kept it close at 16-18. Kills from Jones and
Kirke brought the Dons within 1, 18-19, but Archie Williams took over and won the second game 25-19.
The third game was a close one. Johnson got the Dons off to a 1-0 lead with a kill. Shortly thereafter
Jones registered three kills to give the Dons a 6-4 lead. Hageboeck and Kirke had kills and Jones’ ace
made it 10-8 Dons. The teams went back and forth, with one highlight being a big hit from Olin to give
the Dons a 16-15 lead. The Dons fell slightly behind, but a kill and then a block from Kirke made it 19-22
but the Dons found themselves down 20-24. Olin’s tip and an ace from Zhang brought the Dons to 23-
24 but Archie Williams pulled out the win in the third game.


In the fourth game, Olin started the Dons off with a kill to give the Dons a 1-0 lead, and two kills from
Jones and one from Hageboeck made it 4-1 Dons. Kirke’s kill made is 6-5 Dons but then Archie Williams
went on a run and it was 6-10 when Jones’ kill halted the run. Johnson scored a kill to make it 8-12 and
Olin’s kill made it 11-13. Kirke’s kill kept it close, 13-15. With the Dons trailing 13-16, Kirke scored on a
block then killed an over pass, and an ace from Jones tied it at 16. Kills from Olin and Jones kept it close
but the Dons were down 19-21. Wood then went on a service run after which the Dons were up 22-21
but again Archie Williams came back to take the lead, 22-24. A kill from Olin made it 23-24 but Archie
Williams eked out a 23-25 win to take the match.


The Dons host Branson on Thursday at 5:30 and hope to see a crowd there to cheer them on!