On Tuesday, April 16, the Acalanes Dons boys volleyball team traveled to Walnut Creek to face the Northgate Broncos. Northgate entered the game ranked 13th in the country boasting a 19-0 overall record and a 5-0 league record. One of those victories was a straight set win over the Dons at Acalanes.
The defending NCS champion Dons came ready to play, and the first game was close from the start. A powerful kill by sophomore Austin Kinnear tied the game at 9-9. Kinnear then had another kill after he served to give the Dons an 11-10 lead. Senior Alex Franke won a contested ball at the net then had a kill to put the Dons up 13-12. After senior Colin Kirbach got the ball up on a great save leading to another kill by Kinnear, Kinnear had another kill and a block to give the Dons a 16-14 lead. Senior Jackson Kirke scored a kill to make it 18-15. Kinnear had a serving ace, the Broncos made an error for another Dons point, and Kirbach won a ball at the net and the Dons were up 22-18. Kinnear then got two more kills including the game winner to give the Dons a 25-22 win in set 1.
In the second set, the Broncos jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Service errors by Northgate and kills from Kinnear, Franke and junior Niko Heffernan kept the Dons in the game, and the Dons were able to gain an 18-17 lead. However, the Broncos went on a 7-0 run and won 25-19.
The Dons started off quickly in the third set, with kills from Kirke and Kinnear leading to an early 3-0 lead. Another kill from Kirke made is 4-2 but then Northgate went on a run to go up 10-5. Franke ended the Broncos run with a monster kill and Acalanes tried to claw their way back. A kill from Kinnear made it 12-15 and Heffernan had a kill to make it 13-16 but the Dons never got any closer and lost 21-25.
Down two games to one and with all the momentum going Northgate’s way, things were looking bleak for the Dons heading into the fourth game. Behind the serving of Kirbach and Kinnear, the Dons got off to a good start. A kill by Franke put the Dons up 10-6 and an error by Northgate made it 11-6 and Northgate took a timeout. The Broncos cut the Dons lead to 12-11 but then botched a serve to make it 13-11 Dons. A kill by Kirke made it 14-12 and then one by Kirbach made it 16-12. Kills by Kirke and Franke kept the lead at four 19-15 but the Broncos rallied briefly only to be stopped by a Heffernan kill to give the Dons a 20-17 lead. A timeout by Northgate didn’t work this time and a kill by Kinnear gave the Dons a commanding 23-17 lead. Heffernan had a nice dink for the game winner, as the Dons won 25-22.
With momentum shifted to them for the decisive game 5, the Dons hoped to capitalize. A block by Franke gave the Dons an early 4-2 lead then he followed up with a kill to make it 5-3. Heffernan had a kill to make it 7-3. Senior Griffin Johnson placed a beautiful shot in the corner to make it 8-4 and Kinnear’s kill made it 10-5. Northgate burned their last timeout but it didn’t stop the Dons. A service ace by Johnson, a block from Kirke, two kills by Franke and a Northgate error made it 14-6. Fittingly, it was Kinnear who finished the Broncos off with a kill to give the Dons a 15-8 victory and to hand Northgate their first loss.
The Dons now are tied for first in league but face a tough schedule the last week. They travel to Las Lomas on Thursday April 18 where Las Lomas will be fired up for its Senior Night. It’s an early start at 5:30 and parking is tight so please get there early to support the Dons. The Dons next travel to Bentley for a non-league match on Friday, April 19, and close the regular season by hosting Campo for Senior Night on April 25 at Acalanes. Please come up to support the Dons as they fight for a league title and prepare for NCS!