The JV volleyball team once again had their fans’ eyes twitching in their first home match Thursday night against Los Lomas. The Dons started sluggish, spotting Los Lomas the early momentum. Keeping them in the match were three aces by sophomore Shae McCall, but the team couldn’t snag a lead until Makenna “Makillna” Rodriguez (these nicknames write themselves) smashed one home to make it 11-10. From there, Camille “Ace” Chang rattled off four straight serves, but the Dons decided suspense is good for ticket value, and let the lead shrink back to 21-20. Fortunately, Makillna bookended two Dora Henel aces with kills to close out the first set.

The second set? Let’s just say the Dons temporarily forgot the rules of volleyball. Serve receive, passing, hitting, rotations—gone. It was like Coach Alan had asked them to solve climate change as he sent them out on the court. They opened by giving up the first five points and, despite flirting with a comeback and some strong play at the net by Amari Hollins, fizzled out 25-19. 

That brought it all down to the third set. Makillna set the tone with a quick kill, Valentina Fantin threw down one of her own plus an ace, and the Dons looked like they might cruise. Nope. If you’ve been following, that’s not how this team works. Up 13-11, the ref decided the Knights deserved a little charity and reversed a thunderous Fantin kill. Parents sighed, did some mental math on what cocktail they’d be ordering and how strong it should be. Luckily, sophomores Quinn Frontiera (kill) and Ace Chang (ace, naturally) shut the door on the Knights.

The Dons, 2-0 on the season, proved to themselves that they can win without their “A” game—which should serve them well as the competition heats up.

Photo Credit: Carly Tabak