Triple digit heat is no match for sizzling Dons Volleyball

Dons Girls’ Volleyball Smokes out the Berkeley High Yellow Jackets!

Varsity Volleyball battled heat and the Berkeley High Yellow Jackets to victory Thursday night. Our Dons started out blazing in the first set and kept a steady lead against the Yellow Jackets thanks to strategic kills by Katelyn Olin, Hanna Hageboeck, MaeLin Mason, Sofie Foster and Maya Paul. The Yellow Jackets adapted and brought the game to a dead heat at 12:12 but then Hanna Hageboeck’s thunderous kill pushed Dons forward into a neck and neck battle ending with Dons Victory 27:25.

Second set Dons appeared cool and collected and maintained a steady lead throughout as the Yellow Jackets fall 25:1  This was thanks to solid back row defense by Lyanne Wang and Jade Profilio, with kills from Katelyn Olin, Maya Paul, Apple Walton, Sofie Foster set up by Mara Korzeniowska and Emme Seelenbacher. Hanna Hageboeck clinches the second set for the Dons with an ace serve.

Third set: Our Dons sweltered and lost their stamina and fell behind as the Yellow Jackets swarmed the court. A Ryann Jones kill at 7:18 wok up our exhausted Dons and they rallied behind a massive serving run by Jade Profilio, supported by back row strength from Georgia Winkles and Mika Bocobo and kills from Ryann Jones and Katelyn Olin. The swarm defeated the Dons as the Yellow Jackets took their only set of the night.

Fourth Set: Battling the heat and the Yellow Jackets all night long, the fourth set bought new energy to our Dons to take their court back. A loud Katelyn Olin kill sets the mood and the Dons simmer into the set with a Maya Paul block and more Hanna Hageboeck attacks. The Yellow Jackets were feeling jaded with yet another Jade Profilio serving spree that landed the score at 17:8. The Yellow Jackets foughtt until the end but were no match for the final blow, a Sofie Foster kill ending the match with the fourth set at 25:16.

Ps. If you wonder how hot it was in the gym, let’s just say that our video recordings were halted due to overheating phones


JV girls remain undefeated with convincing win against Berkeley High

Looking to stay unbeaten, the JV Girls Vball team had a home game against Berkeley High on Thursday.  With the Sonoma tournament looming on Saturday and record heat outside, it would have been easy to lose focus and overlook their opponents.  It absolutely didn’t happen thanks to some great serving in the first set.  Stella Larkin was crushing it with her serves.  Annie Baker had a huge kill as well.  The team went on to win the first set easily 25-12.  Eliza Gullberg had amazing serves in the second set as we raced out to an early lead again.  Our middle blocker, Sofia Terry had a monstrous kill to keep the momentum going.  Fiona Roux had pinpoint serves which caused heaps of trouble for Berkeley.  Our JV team cruised to a 25-10 second set victory to stay unbeaten.  

Freshman Girls Volleyball Defeats Berkeley in Straight Sets

Set #1: Dons win 25-9

The Lady Dons hosted Berkeley in a sultry home gym on Thursday afternoon.  The Dons got off to a quick start behind Juliana Harhay’s nice kill for the 3rd point of the set followed up by Veronica Flint’s on the next play. Ellie Blanchard had a full extension, super-girl-dive-dig® (patent pending) to save point 15 and the police may be looking for Maggie Krackeler this morning as she had four kills throughout the set. The Dons found themselves up 13-8 when Sela Sarbiewski took her turn to serve and rattled off 11 straight points, assisted by a nice kill from Valeria Toledo and great save from Brooke Rardin as the Dons cruised to a 25-9 victory.

Set #2: Dons win 25-2

This set was defined by the Dons serving, specifically the serving of Sydney Graves and Ellie Blanchard. Sydney opened the action with 10 straight points including a couple of aces.  Ellie took her serve with the Dons up 11-2 and proceeded to slam the door with 14 straight points, dealing a few aces along the way enroute to a 25-2 Dons win.

Game ball: Sela Sarbiewski – congrats!