Your Dons headed up to Martinez to take on Alhambra High on Wednesday night, and despite scoring more points than the Bulldogs, dropped two sets out of three. The Dons were a little short-handed for the match, with a few regulars missing due to injury or conflicts. In set one, the Dons found themselves in a 20-20 tie thanks to solid front row hitting and defense, but the Dogs used their steady back row passing and ball control to force our team into mistakes. Final 21-25. In set two, the Dons steadied their rotation and came out firing. Some big blasts by Annika Olson and Makenzie Sauer, and a long serving run by Erin Meade helped the Dons win it going away, 25-15. In set three, with the Dons feeling comfortable, the Dogs got off to a hot start, 6-0. Your Dons battled all the way back to 12-12, then went ahead 14-12. Some great defense by Katelyn Olin and some tricky shots from opposite Tate Huisingh keyed the rally. The Dons traded points with the Dogs to get to 22-22 and the rather large partisan crowd of parents and students in the gym was becoming a factor. The Dons appeared to be in good shape, up 23-22, when the Dogs got a little bit of help from the Great Hound in the Sky, and found a way to tie it and go on the take the deciding two points, 23-25.

In the ‘what else could go wrong this year’ department, tonight’s Senior Night match vs. Northgate has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues with the Broncos. The Dons will be back in action next week, and will honor the seniors before their home match vs. Las Lomas on Thursday May 27th.

More photos, with all credit to our talented photographer Paul Sauer, who spends every match capturing amazing shots of our kids doing what they love:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/f6xEbKbUdkiHt5JVA