This weekend the JV team ventured to Pittsburg to compete in the East County Tournament. The Dons handled Branson in their first match 25-12 and 25-10. The match featured some dominating net play from middles Kylie Wood, Alara Rose and Aly Kirke along with great passing from libero Sydney Sowarby and DS Daisy Sibley.
Match two was against Carondolet and proved to be more exciting. Daisy had a number of great digs early, with 3 of those converted into early kills from Tate Huisingh via setter Sarah Coons. Later, Lyla Cox had 2 quick kills as well from setter Aisha Mohanty. The middles continued their strong play as the Dons pushed to a 18-10 lead, with Makenzie Sauer swinging well and Lauren Davis adding 2 kills. Carondolet pulled it closer, getting it back to 19-17 but a Tate kill and Aisha ace pushed the lead back to 4. After one last Cougar push a kill from Aly and roof by by Kylie gave the Dons a 25-21 victory.
The Cougars came out hot in the second game, due to local nonbeliever Katie Sowarby switching ends in the bleachers, jumping to a 6-0 lead before a kill from Makenzie stopped the bleeding. Tate added a kill following a timeout, and the Dons got a little momentum back. Unfortunately Sarah had to leave the game due to a knee injury, leaving Aisha to handle all the setting duties. They eventually tied it up at 11 with Lyla, Tate, and Kylie all adding kills, and Audrey Passalacqua digging well and ripping off some jump serves. The Dons made it 17-14 as Kylie reeled off 3 more kills and Sydney chased down balls like an enthusiastic golden retriever. A couple nice serves from Aisha got it to 21-16 and the Dons never looked back, winning 25-23 on a Kylie 1 to take their pool.
The Dons moved on to the championship bracket facing Cal High in round one. They opened up an 16-7 lead with lone setter Aisha feeding all the hitters who got some good swings on the ball. Makenzie, Kylie, and Aly really dropped the hammer a few times and Emma Johnson hit some nice angles from the right side. The back line held up well keeping the Cal offense in check and the Dons went on to take the first 25-11.
Cal showed a bit more life in the second taking an early 5-4 lead but the team rallied to get ahead 13-12 with Aly, Emma, and Tate all recording kills in quick succession. Acalanes worked it to a 23-20 lead, but Cal dug in to take it back to 24-23. Fortunately the Dons powered off 3 quick points to seal the match 26-24.
Acalanes came into the semi-finals as the public school champs, with 3 Catholic schools filling out the bracket and the Dons facing a tough St. Ignatious. Lauren opened the scoring after a long rally pounding one down the line after a nice dig from Tate. The Loyolas managed a sideout at 3-1 but Makenzie got it back with a sweet pipe and the Dons ran it to a 7-3 lead. The Hoyas pulled it even at 11 but then a Tate tool and kill and a Lauren roof helped extend it to 16-12. The Dons forced a timeout at 19-15 after hard kills from Makenzie and Kylie and some spectacular digs from Daisy, Tate and Sydney. The Saints were unable to make a comeback and Acalanes won set 1 25-20 on a well timed Aly roof.
The Ygnacios were clearly upset with their first set and roared to a 6-0 lead in the second (thanks again Katie) and never looked back taking it 25-7.
Thus, the match moved on to set 3. SI continued to pour it on running it to 8-3 before an Aly roof got it back and Makenzie scored on a pipe. Sadly, despite a great effort and a late rally, the Dons dropped the third 15-8 to end their tourney run in a tie for third place. Great job Dons!
