Varsity volleyball: Dons battled the Pumas in Santa Rosa
Wednesday, August 31st, the Dons traveled through the wine country to beautiful Santa Rosa to face the Maria Carrillo High School Pumas. The first set started off strong with Acalanes taking the lead. Pin hitter Maylin Mason led the Dons in kills; strong serves, including multiple aces, by middle Katelyn Olin, & strategic blocks by Olin & Sofie Foster were some highlights. Unfortunately, the Dons were unable to keep their lead and lost to the Pumas 25 – 19.
Set #2 was an even closer battle. Solid serves & kills by oppo Apple Walton, and outside Ryann Jones led the Acalanes offense. Formidable defense included deep digs by Jade Profilio and blocks across our entire front row. Setter Emme Seelenbacher never failed to support our hitters, and, along with Jade Profilio, further added to the Dons’ serve & ace count. Acalanes almost caught the Pumas, but in the end lost the second set 25 – 23.
Repeating our comeback pattern from recent matches, the Dons came out fighting in set #3. More strong service from Apple Walton, Jade Profilio, & Ryann Jones, along with more kills by Maylin Mason, Ryann Jones & Katelyn Olin put the Dons in a great position from the start. Our defense held strong, and with the finishing block by Katelyn Olin, the Dons took the third set defeating the Pumas 25 – 20.
The Dons fans were understandably on the edge of their seats going into the fourth set. Acalanes put on a full team effort with Mika Bocobo leading the Dons’ offense in multiple serving runs. Our front row racked up an impressive kill count thanks to Olin, Jones, Paul, Mason, & Walton, with bonus strategic and unexpected “Jedi mind-sets” over the net by Seelenbacher. Profilio continued to dig as best she could, but in the end the Dons didn’t have enough to advance to a 5th set.
Acalanes JV Top Maria Carillo High School
On Wednesday, the JV Girls Volleyball took the long trek to Santa Rosa to faceoff against Maria Carillo High School. Coming off the solid victory from the day before, our girls looked to continue their unbeaten streak to start off the season. In set 1, as has been the team’s trademark, the team came out strong behind great blocking by Addy Treter and consistent hitting by Annie Baker to take an early 9-3 lead. With fabulous setting by Christina Hageboeck and killer serves by Campbell Evans, the Dons won 25-13. Looking to rebound, Maria Carillo High fought hard to try and even the match. With tough blocks by Sophia Terry and Addi Ames, the Dons tried to keep their opponents at bay. Pushing the game to a 3rd set, Maria Carillo was able to win the second set 25-22. With their unbeaten streak on the line, our Dons kept their focus. Stella Larkin with an awesome ace and additional impressive serves by Rena Liu, Acalanes came out to an almost insurmountablelead, 11-4. Kylah Fox had a sweet kill which helped finish off the 3rd set 15-4 and continue their hot streak.
