Varsity Volleyball: Dons Slay the Heritage High Patriots

Tuesday night, our Acalanes Ladies Varsity Volleyball team returned to East County for a re-match against Heritage High School in Brentwood. Recall just 3 days ago, we had dominated the Patriots in 2 sets at the East County Tournament. 

The evening started with a tight first set, Heritage meeting us point for point; despite impressive oppo kills by Apple Walton, the Dons lost 25 – 22. Heading into the second set, our Dons may have been a bit discouraged or maybe just needed a bit more warmup?…21 – 12 Patriots!? How did we get here?! Enter Hanna Hageboeck, next up for the Acalanes serve, delivering a blistering service run, with the support of the entire Dons’ court, shifting the score from 21-12 Patriots, to a tie at 21-21!! Multiple kills from Maylin Mason & Apple Walton finished out the second set for Acalanes 25 – 23.

Going into the third set tensions and expectations were high on both sides of the court. Another close match from start to finish, but the Patriots were again outplayed by the Dons. Killer serves by Katelyn Olin, blocks by Sofie Foster, kills and deft play at the net by Monica Dikova, nothing without well orchestrated teamwork across the court, highlighted the Dons closing the set 25-21. 

Our final set was again a ping pong of tied scores almost from start to finish; strong sets & serves from Emma Seelenbacher, dominant serving by Jade Profilio & Ryann Jones were highlights to close the night with a Dons victory in 4 sets. 

JV update 

Aca JV girls volleyball team had their first matchup where they were actually keeping score.  The team travelled to Heritage High School in Brentwood for the game.  It was a battle all night long that saw big momentum swings in both directions.  Our Aca girls came out strong in the first set showing dazzling serves, passes and kills to win 25-14. Heritage fought back to win the second set 22-25 and take the match to a third and final set to determine the overall winner.  Not to be deterred, the JV team roared back and blitzed Heritage 15-6 getting their first win of the season.

Frosh update 

WOMENS FROSH VOLLEYBALL After a fun and friendly warm-up to the season, playing a series of unscored exhibition games at the Campo Jamboree hosted by Campolindo last Saturday, the Women’s Frosh Volleyball team kicked off the official recorded season with a win against Heritage High in Brentwood, which hosted Acalanes on Tuesday.  The Dons initially showed some early-season jitters, with Heritage pulling ahead quickly in the first set.  With the score at 11 (home) to 5 (visitors), the Acalanes coaches called a timeout to regroup and strategize.  Turns out this did the trick, with the Dons creeping back up and then pulling ahead – ultimately winning game 1.  Their confidence regained, Acalanes took and held the lead in the second set, with a 9-point spread midway through the game.  The Heritage players also benefited from a timeout chat with their coaching staff, but it wasn’t quite enough, and Acalanes won set 2 and the match.  Match highlights included a 5-point hot-streak with serving by #13 Sydney Graves, who reportedly worked hard on her sneaky serve all summer!