On Tuesday, the Acalanes Dons varsity volleyball team hosted Archie Williams (formerly Drake) High
School in the Dons’ first preseason match.

With senior Rachel Zhang serving, the Dons got off to a 1-0 lead. After a sideout, senior Emma Johnson
served up on ace for a 2-1 lead. The Dons fell behind but juniors Ryann Jones and Katelyn Olin had back
to back kills to tie it up at 5 and then Johnson delivered a back row kill for a 6-5 lead.

The Dons fell slightly behind but the momentum turned when Olin and fellow junior Hanna Hageboeck
combined on a block to make it 15-17. Hageboeck followed that up with a kill and an ace, and Olin’s kill
gave the Dons an 18-17 lead. After Jones’ kill made it 19-17, Olin dominated the net for the rest of the
game with a block and three kills, including the game winner, to give the Dons a 25-17 win in the first
game.

In the second game, Hageboeck got the Dons on the board with a kill to make it 1-2. Jones started the
Dons on a run with a tip, followed by two aces from Hageboeck, giving the Dons a 5-4 lead. Hageboeck
registered another kill to start another run for the Dons. Senior Aly Kirke’s kill, followed by an ace from
senior Kira Wood made it 8-5. Johnson and Kirke then teamed up to block an attempted kill, and Kirke
killed an overpass and won a jump ball at the net to give the Dons a 10-5 lead. Kirke and Olin had a
number of kills off the overpasses, usually the result of effective serving from junior libero Lyanne Wang,
Wood and Zhang.

Archie Williams countered with a run of its own, and the Dons were down 13-17. Hageboeck’s kill and an
ace from Olin brought the Dons within 2, 15-17. Kirke’s tip kept it close at 16-18. Kills from Jones and
Kirke brought the Dons within 1, 18-19, but Archie Williams took over and won the second game 25-19.
The third game was a close one. Johnson got the Dons off to a 1-0 lead with a kill. Shortly thereafter
Jones registered three kills to give the Dons a 6-4 lead. Hageboeck and Kirke had kills and Jones’ ace
made it 10-8 Dons. The teams went back and forth, with one highlight being a big hit from Olin to give
the Dons a 16-15 lead. The Dons fell slightly behind, but a kill and then a block from Kirke made it 19-22
but the Dons found themselves down 20-24. Olin’s tip and an ace from Zhang brought the Dons to 23-
24 but Archie Williams pulled out the win in the third game.

In the fourth game, Olin started the Dons off with a kill to give the Dons a 1-0 lead, and two kills from
Jones and one from Hageboeck made it 4-1 Dons. Kirke’s kill made is 6-5 Dons but then Archie Williams
went on a run and it was 6-10 when Jones’ kill halted the run. Johnson scored a kill to make it 8-12 and
Olin’s kill made it 11-13. Kirke’s kill kept it close, 13-15. With the Dons trailing 13-16, Kirke scored on a
block then killed an over pass, and an ace from Jones tied it at 16. Kills from Olin and Jones kept it close
but the Dons were down 19-21. Wood then went on a service run after which the Dons were up 22-21
but again Archie Williams came back to take the lead, 22-24. A kill from Olin made it 23-24 but Archie
Williams eked out a 23-25 win to take the match.

The Dons host Branson on Thursday at 5:30 and hope to see a crowd there to cheer them on!