YOUR Acalanes Dons Girls Volleyball Team continued its Week 1 road show in league play, facing the much-improved Alhambra Bulldogs in Martinez on Thursday night. Roll the highlights.
First Set:
2-5: Slow start. Hayes Hollar roof. Dons cold.
4-6: Erin Meade kill. Warmer…
6s: Awesome tight net set from Rachel Go…Roxy Cummings kills it. Getting hotter.
7-6: Go Ace! Lit!
8s: Another solid Go set to Elsa Clever who crushes it.
11-9: Madi Risch scolds the Dogs with a block at the net. Woof!, I mean Roof!
14-13: Annika Olson with another stuff block for the Dons. Bad Dog!
16-15: Lane Webster sets up Olson in the middle for a powerful kill.
19-20: Hollar with an aggressive back row kill. Timely.
19-24: Rough patch. Dogs bite hard. Timeout Dons to inspect the wounds.
21-24: Risch kill then Meade kill, chasing the Dogs into a timeout…
… but the canines run away with the first set 21-25.
Second Set:
1s: Cailey McVay nice pass. Risch rewards with a kill.
5-6: Clever kill keeps Aca close.
10-9: Olivia Elliott smokes an overpass at the net to give the Dons the lead.
11s: Another good Elliott block re-ties it. Let’s go O!
13s: McVay ties it again with an Ace! Timeout Alhambra.
17-15: Great Go serve prompts an overpass. Clever promptly crushes it. Yummy.
19s: Alhambra snarls back. This is a dog fight. Timeout Dons.
21-20: Risch Bomb Kill!
23-21: Then Risch kills one softly and smartly.
25-21: Risch Ace! Dons grab the second set as Madi asserts Alpha dominance.
Third Set:
2-1: Olson kill.
4-3: Dons did some funky mojo that resulted in a point.
7-3: Clever Roof! Timeout Alhambra and the whole team actually departs the gym. Can they do that? The Dogs have left the kennel.
9-5: Hollar killing me softly with a dink. Winner.
11-7: Clever wins a joust at the net. Down Fido.
12-7: Hollar Ace!
13-8: Webster drills a kill from the “Oppo” spot.
14-8: Clever Ace! Big Dons run. I will keep writing notes every point on this streak!
15-8: Olson kill!
16-8: Clever Ace! Dogs are howling in pain. Timeout Alhambra.
19-13: Streak ended, but Olson kills the pure McVay set.
22-16: Webster sharp angle kill after the bullet serve from Parker Jung.
23-17: Go –> Risch –> Kill.
25-18: Webster rips a kill to the back line. Give that pup a treat. Dons win the Third.
Fourth Set:
2-1: Olson fires a sneaky low kill.
3s: SUPER McVay dig on a Big Dog hit, and then Elliott stuffs the overpass. Always yummy.
7-8: Clever Ace!
9-10: Olson again. Solid.
13s: Clever ties it up with a smart little tip winner.
13-16: Timeout Dons after a little bit of a pooch party.
15-18: Hollar Ace. Bringin’ the heat.
17-21: Cummings block. Dogs can smell it though.
18-23: Elena Needs jumps in and makes a great pass…Olson kills it.
18-25: But Alhambra grabs the Fourth and doesn’t let go, like a good Bulldog.
Fifth Set:
3-4: Kennedy Cornish kill. The gym is tense.
6s: Clever ties it up with a middle kill.
9-8: Risch pounds one off the blockers for a huge point.
9-12: Timeout Dons after a 4-point Pack Attack. Ouch.
9-15: Unfortunately the Dons can’t get on track and Alhambra runs off 7 straight points to close out the match. Tough road loss in 5 sets but the Dons are making good progress and it was a fun, hard fought battle.