Over the Labor Day Weekend, for a 2-day tournament, the Varsity Lady Dons travelled to Reno to take on other teams from California and Nevada. This is the first time the team has travelled to an out of state tournament. It would be a great way for the young team to gel before league games start on September 7th against Benicia.
In a pool with Oakdale (CA), Spanish Springs (Sparks, NV), Nevada Union (Grass Valley, CA), the Dons hoped to play well so they could move on the knockout stage on day 2. The first game came against Oakdale High School. It was a closely contested battle with the Dons winning in 3 sets. The next matchup was against Spanish Springs who were the highest seeded team in our pool. We hung tough in the first set but ultimately lost 19-25 and then 9-25 in the second set. Our last game in pool play came against Nevada Union. It was a super close back and forth game that came down to the Dons needing to win set 2 to force a set 3. We were up 24-23 but lost the last 3 points to lose 24-26. Fortunately, there was a lot of volleyball left for day 2 of the tournament.
Day 2, the stakes of each game increase as it becomes a single elimination situation. Win all 4 matchups, and they become Division 2, Platinum Champions. With the mindset, one-game a time, the Dons took on Truckee first. Coming out hot, we easily dispatched them 25-12 and 25-20. In tournaments, it’s 2 out of 3 sets which won’t be the case when league starts. The second game came against Placer High School. Again, keeping their foot on the pedal, the Dons crushed Placer 25-20 and 25-15 to take us into the bracket play to try and win the Platinum Championship. Galena High School out of Reno, NV proved to be a worthy opponent. This one would be going 3 sets. Acalanes took charge in the 3rd set, winning 15-8, guaranteeing a spot in the finals. Douglas High School, out of Minden, NV., would be the team standing in the way of the Platinum Championship. With their sites on the prize, the Lady Dons looked determined to take it across the finish line. After winning set 1, 25-21, we were hoping to finish this off in 2 sets as it had already been a long day of volleyball! With a close set 2, that went back and forth, the Dons forced their will on their opponent and won 25-17, going 4-0 on the day. The momentum is now on our side as the Dons head into league play.
