The JV Dons marched into rival territory at Campo for what was billed (by this author) as their first real test of the season. Campo has a younger squad with plenty of height and talent.

I’d love to say my game notes were crystal clear, but they look like a Jackson Pollock painting of nerves, anxiety, and sweat, as Campo apparently forgot air conditioning is a thing. One parent believed he could battle the heat with his sunglasses – but I didn’t have the heart to tell him it wouldn’t work.

Still, I managed to decode enough to know the Dons came out swinging, holding the lead through the first 19 points of set one. Then Campo ripped off a 5-point run. The Dons clawed back to tie it at 25, but Campo scored the next two points to take the first set, 25-27. 

Set two was a déjà vu moment. The Dons held the early lead again, thanks to Valentina Fantin patrolling the middle and Cam “Bam” Tabak hammering balls from the right side. But tied at 14, Campo seized momentum. I’d like to say they earned it, but a series of unforced errors were a big contributor to the scoring swing. The Dons scrapped back again to ties at 20 and 22. At a critical point, the ref went deep into the rule book to pull out an obscure infraction against the Dons, and they fell in the second set 25-22. 

In the end, the Dons walked away with their first loss of the season, but a much bigger takeaway: they can hang with Campo. Each set was tight, and both could’ve tipped the other way. On this night, though, the team that made the fewest mistakes got the win, and that was Campo.

Disclaimer. This column is directionally accurate, but relies on rampant speculation and questionable statistics and attribution. Please read accordingly.