Acalanes Ladies Varsity Volleyball: Dons take on the Knights at Las Lomas
This past Tuesday night, 10/18, the Dons played Las Lomas on their home turf, also celebrating the Knights’ Senior Night!
The Knights were so thoughtful to honor our 9 graduating seniors with a bouquet for each player tied with blue and white ribbon! Love the camaraderie and sportsmanship of our local volleyball teams!
Set #1 was a close match from the start. Highlights included multiple kills by Olin, with help from Walton, Jones, & Paul, solid service by Bocobo, Korzeniowska, & digs by Profilio, Winkles, & Bocobo. Unfortunately the Dons just missed the win, 25 – 23, Knights.
The second set also had a strong showing by the Dons: ups across the court by Wang, Bocobo, Profilio, & Winkles, multiple aces by Mason, setter Korzeniowska, DS Winkles, & libero Profilio, and kills by outside hitter Hageboeck, oppo Walton, outside hitter Mason, & middle Olin. Unfortunately the Dons couldn’t catch the Knights, who took set #2, 25 – 18.
The Dons had a reset for set #3: Crazy kill count led by outside Jones, with more from Olin, Hageboeck, Paul, & Walton. Service was on point, with a great run by Bocobo, including 2 aces, and more over the net by Winkles & Profilio. Defense was unbeatable with digs and saves by Winkles, Profilio, Wang, & Bocobo. Through it all, consistent sets all over the court in the 5:1 rotation by the tireless Korzeniowska. In the end the Dons pulled it off to win the third set 25 – 22.
Set #4 was a hard fought battle between 2 teams determined to take home the win. The Dons fought hard from the start, with the score literally neck and neck the entire game. Middle Katelyn Olin racked up over half a dozen kills, followed by multiple hits by Hageboeck & Jones. Jones had a run on serve including 2 aces, with more great serves by Winkles, Bocobo & Mason, and great defense by Profilio, Wang, & Winkles. The Knights got their Senior Night wish after a hard fought battle, taking the 4th set from the Dons 27 -25.
JV Girls Vball keep the streak alive with win over Las Lomas
Coming off their East County Tournament win over the weekend, the Lady Dons want to finish the season strong with a two more wins Tuesday and Thursday. Looking to go undefeated in league, the first game came against Las Lomas Tuesday night. With a boisterous home crowd for Las Lomas, our team started a bit slow which is our trademark but it gives our opponents a false sense of security because we ALWAYS storm back.
In set one, Addi Ames had 3 massive kills to start the comeback. Stella Larkin had a couple of beautiful well-placed aces. Piper Coy smoked a kill through the Knights blockers that may have put a dent in one of their arms. Campbell Evans finessed a gorgeous push set to an open space for a point. Christina Hageboeck smashed a couple of her trademark serves for points and also had a great saving bump to get us closer to a set 1 win. Set one went Acalanes way 25-16.
Set 2 started well too with Campbell acing the Knights. Addi had a sweet kill cross court that really surprised the defense. Milan Maycock received a spectacular quick set to kill another point. Nisa Khoury had a well-placed kill to increase our lead. Fiona Roux came in to continue our serving mastery. Rena Liu also produced a couple of amazing serves that crushed the hopes of a Knights comeback. Piper also had two tip kills right over the blockers that had their defense diving at air. With a 25-18 set two win, our Lady Dons took the match leaving one more victory on Thursday against Miramonte to go undefeated in league. Go Dons!
Freshman Girls Volleyball Defeats Las Lomas in Straight Sets
Coming off a week that saw the Dons avenge losses to both Campo and Northgate, tonight’s rematch against Las Lomas seemed like a classic “trap” game. Would Coach Roman be able to keep the girls focused on the task at hand? Would delusions of grandeur distract the team from the opponent in front of them? Only time would tell…
Set #1: Dons win 25-14
The Dons stepped up early with strong serving efforts from Sela Sarbiewski who had three service points, including an ace, and Maya Stafford who chipped in two of her own. Juliana Harhay had a big kill and the Dons found themselves cruising, up 12-5. The fans and your correspondent began their usual early chicken counting only to have the Knights go on a six-point run, narrowing the Dons’ lead to 12-10.
Grace Hayes reestablished the Dons’ momentum with four straight service points as Maya set up Ellie and Sela for big kills on points 16 and 17. Phoebe Gerlings had a nice diving save to keep the Dons mojo intact and Sydney Graves channeled her inner middle as she stuffed the Knights on the net to give the Dons a 19-12 lead.
The Dons were looking good as Valeria Toledo provided strong defense at the net and Ellie put an exclamation point on a dominant first set, serving for the final 5 points with Maggie Krackeler providing kills for points 24 and 25. Dons win 25-14.
Set #2: Dons win 25-19
It was aces wild as Ellie served for three service aces to stake the Dons to an early 4-1 lead. Communication woes plagued the Dons early on and the Knights took advantage, going up 8-10 midway through the set. Veronica Flint had a kill to cut the Knights’ lead to 12-13 and Reese Westphal’s strong defense helped the Dons keep things close as Audrey Martin tied the score 14-14 with an impressive kill. The Dons seemed to get back on the same page as Ellie’s three service points put the Dons up 15-14.
The Dons maintained a one- or two-point lead before Maya’s two service points put them up 19-16 and Brooke Rardins’s crosscourt kill for point 23 foreshadowed the inevitable. Sydney served out the final two points for an impressive Dons win, 25-19.Game Ball went to Sela, congratulations!