The Dons traveled to Vallejo to take on the Bruins of St. Pat’s on Wednesday, in a now-rare best of 5 sets match.
In set one, the teams played to a 4-4 tie, until senior Tate Huisingh stepped up to serve. She proceeded to reel off 11 straight points, highlighted by a few aces and a prodigious slam by outside hitter Annika Olson. At 18-5, senior Makenzie Sauer lit up the gym with a power kill of her own. Katelyn Olin sent a quick set from Erin Meade straight to the hardwood to make it 23-9. An ace by senior Elena Needs and another monster spike by Annika Olson finished a quick set, 25-9.
Set two was kicked off by a loud kill by senior Lauren Davis from the right side, and the Dons were once again off to the races. Another quickie from Erin Meade to Katelyn Olin made it 8-2, and a Meade roof gave the Dons a 10-3 lead. Maya Paul put one away from the oppo side to make it 12-5, then a pair of aces from senior Sydney Sowarby ran it to 14-5. The Lauren Davis Show continued as she blasted an overpass to the floor, then crushed another one through the St. Pat’s defense. Both teams sent the crowd into a tizzy with an unreal point that finally went the Don’s way, 18-6. A sweet back-set from senior Aisha Mohanty led to an easy point, 20-9. Lauren and Annika delivered back to back kills, and Katelyn Olin added to the ace total, leading the Dons to a 25-10 win.
In set three, the Dons relaxed a little bit, and the Bruins stepped up to defend their home court. Tate Huisingh had a nice kill to make it 2-2, but some dicey serve/receive play led to a 2-7 hole. Emma Johnson put one away to make it 4-7, then an ace by Ally Kirke and a hot shot by Elena Needs got the Dons back to 8-10. Some tough serving and mistakes by the Bruins gave the Dons an 11-10 lead, and eventually put the teams into a 14-14 tie. The Don’s delivered a nice tip shot by Ally Kirke and a rocket kill by Elena Needs, but they found themselves in a 16-19 hole. After the time out, some solid back row passing by Kira Wood and another kill by Emma Johnson put them back in it, 20-21. Unfortunately, the Bruins got some bounces down the stretch, and took set three 20-25.
In set four, the Bruins used their momentum to go up 1-4, then 2-6, and they were pumped. The Dons did their best to turn it around, with an ace by Katelyn Olin and some great front row defense, putting the tally at 7-10. At that point, senior Annika Olson made her serving debut for the season, and promptly delivered a series of lasers toward the opponent. Ten straight points later, the Dons were up 17-10. Makenzie Sauer then made her presence felt, applying constant pressure to the Bruin defense with several slams from the left side, 19-12. Katelyn Olin pitched in with another nice kill, 20-12. Aisha, ace, 21-12. Lauren Davis then registered on the Richter Scale with a smack, 23-13. A big block from Katelyn and an ace by senior Daisy Sibley finished the set and match, 25-13 Dons.
Tonight the Dons head to Moraga to take on the Campolindo Cougars at 7:30pm. GO DONS!
Pictures from Paul Sauer here: