YOUR Acalanes Dons Girls Volleyball Team visited Sonoma Valley High on Saturday for a long day of tournament volleyball. The Dons played their best ball of the year by far, and ended up with a 3rd Place finish, going 4-1 on the day.
The Dons started pool play against Albany. They took the first set 25-12 in dominant fashion, with great serving from Rachel Go and Elsa Clever, strong passing by Cailey McVay and Madi Risch. Hayes Hollar delivered multiple kills. The second set was closer, but the Dons prevailed 25-21 and won the match. In the second the Dons were led by super front row blocking by Annika Olson and Olivia Elliott. Lane Webster dished up several good sets to Roxy Cummings, who delivered some nice winning shots. An Olson Ace closed out the match!
Next, the Dons steamrolled Enoch High School in two straight sets, and then finished out a perfect pool record by taking down the host school Sonoma Valley, which provided a much stiffer test. In the first set, Hollar and Risch were on fire all over the court on offense and defense. Webster and Go teamed up for some great setting and the Dons, playing fast and loose, took the first set 25-21. In the second set, have to shout out to Go and McVay for outstanding consistent serving. Olson continued to show adaptability up front, and Clever was a dominant force at the net. Dons played their best set of the year and dismantled Sonoma 25-14, earning the top seed in the Gold Bracket for the playoff.
The Dons started bracket play with a rematch against Albany and the result was the same with the Dons winning in two, including a 25-12 blowout in the first set. The second set was much closer, and both teams played well and fought hard. There were many highlights from a wide array of Acalanes athletes, including several key winners from Cummings. Risch hammered the match-winning kill as the Dons moved to 4-0 on the day with a 25-23 finish to the second set. Final Four!
The Dons faced Sir Francis Drake in the semifinal and it was quite a battle. The first set was a back and forth see-saw contest. Erin Meade delivered several big winners to keep the Dons in it, but Drake slipped away with the first set 23-25.
Another epic struggle unfolded for control of the second set. The Dons rallied from being down by three points to prevail 25-22 and force a third and final set. Webster threw in a couple of sneaky scoring “dumps” catching the Pirates unawares, Kennedy Cornish ripped a couple of kills from the middle and Olson continued to shine up front.
And true to form in this tight match the third set went well into overtime. The Dons had four match points with a 14-10 lead but couldn’t get the winner and ultimately fell 17-19 to a resilient Drake squad. Overall the Dons had a great day and improved their record to 8-6.