Over the last two weeks, the Varsity Dons volleyball team has begun to find its stride. On October 8, the Dons swept College Park 3-0, followed by a 3-1 victory over Northgate on October 13.

That momentum carried them into Thursday’s match against crosstown rival Los Lomas, where the Knights had cleverly organized a bake sale. By Thursday evening, most parents have spent four days working, parenting, driving kids around, and generally pretending to be responsible adults. At that point, whatever self-discipline we started the week with is long gone. So yes, I’ll take three brownies. And a cookie for the road.

The last time these teams met, in late September, the Knights swept the Dons 3-0 on Acalanes’ home court. There wasn’t much reason to expect a different outcome, particularly with standout senior middle Sydney Scovic sidelined by illness. nApparently, nobody told the Dons.

The Knights may have expected another easy win, but the Dons had other plans. The first set was tied at 16 when senior Ella Chong decided she’d had enough of that. She delivered a kill, stepped back to the service line, and helped the Dons rattle off three straight points. Senior Harper Fox followed with two pressure serves, and the Dons took the first set, 25-21.

The second set was a battle from the start, with the teams trading points through a 12-12 tie. Whenever the Dons needed a big play, Chong seemed happy to oblige with another kill. But the Knights eventually pulled ahead 24-20, needing just one point to even the match.

Senior middle Devyn Murphy, who had been holding her own against an outstanding Los Lomas middle all night, delivered a huge kill to keep the Dons alive. Down 21-24, Amelia Easley stepped to the service line and proceeded to make the Knights’ lives miserable. Four straight points, including a Chong kill and a Murphy block, brought the Dons even at 25.

Murphy added another kill, and junior Quinn Frontiera delivered two of her own to complete the comeback, 28-26. The Dons were up two sets to none against a team that had swept them just weeks earlier.

The Knights weren’t going away quietly, taking the third set 25-20. And early in the fourth, disaster struck. Chong, who had been having an incredible match, went down after an unfortunate collision with a teammate. She was unable to return.

The Dons had relied heavily on Chong and Murphy all evening, and losing Chong’s powerful hitting was a huge blow. The Knights took advantage, winning the fourth set 25-20 and forcing a decisive fifth.

Things got ugly quickly. The Dons fell behind 7-2, which is not an ideal way to start a set that only goes to 15. But junior outside hitter Abby Haimovici wasn’t ready to call it a night. She delivered a kill, then stepped back to serve and helped spark a four-point run, including an ace and a kill by senior Meher Jeyakrishnan. Suddenly, the Dons were back within striking distance at 11-9.

Unfortunately, the early deficit, combined with the loss of Chong, proved too much to overcome. The Knights held on to win the fifth set and the match, 3-2.

And yet, this one felt a lot like a victory. Just a few weeks earlier, the Dons couldn’t take a single set from the Knights. On Thursday, they pushed them to the brink, despite missing one of their best players before the match even started and losing another midway through.

And while the big kills get most of the attention, the Dons’ defense deserves plenty of credit. Junior libero Fran Barbesco and seniors Sahar Naroozi and Lourdes Smith delivered excellent serve receive and, at times, spectacular digs against two of the better hitters that the Dons will face, and that kept the Dons in system and gave their hitters opportunities to attack.

The Dons are playing their best volleyball of the season, and they’re doing it at exactly the right time. If they continue improving at this rate and meet the Knights again in the playoffs, I like their chances. And if there continue to be bake sales at all of these schools, I don’t like parents’ chances.