Varsity Volleyball Decimates McNeil 3-0

On Tuesday, Sep. 4, the varsity volleyball team played against the McNeil Mavericks, beating them 3-0.

“It’s the first points and the first set that matter,” Jessica Lane ‘21 said. “If we start out strong and get the momentum, it carries us to finish.”

Maddie Gillispie ‘20 started off with the first serve, and the Mavericks returned the ball. Gillispie passed to Kenzie Beckham ‘21, and when Beckham tried to tip the ball, the Mavericks blocked, gaining the first point of the game. The Mavericks started a point streak by spiking into the deep corner of the court and between the Warriors’ defense. Audrey Quesnel ‘20 stopped the point streak with a kill down the middle. After a few failed kill attempts from both teams, McKayla Ross ‘22 blocked the Mavericks’  hitter, scoring a point for her team. Zoey Menendez ‘20 hit a right set side between the Mavericks’ blockers. The Mavericks received a serve and passed it too close to the net which Quesnel slammed the ball down, which helped the Warriors gain momentum. The Lady Warriors tied with the Lady Mavericks when one of their outside hitters hit the ball out, but the Warriors took the lead when Erin Fagan ‘22 got a kill off a block. The Mavericks took back the lead when Quesnel tipped the ball into the tape, and had a three point streak when the Lady Warriors failed to block and receive hits. The Warriors fought for points, and a block from Menendez tied the game again.The Mavericks hit the twenty-point mark when the Lady Warriors failed to block an outside hit, and Menendez brought the Warriors to the twenty-point mark when she slammed the ball between the opponent’s blockers. Menendez helped the ladies reach game point when she spiked a roll shot into the Mavericks’ defensive holes, and finished the first set with a kill from the right side. The Lady Warriors won the first set 25-21.

“Our hitting was really well,” Abby Gregorcyzk ‘21 said. “Our hitters were doing great on placing their hits and knowing when to tip.”

At the beginning of the second set the Mavericks started off with the serve but Ross blocked their middle hit, earning the first point for the Lady Warriors. A serve error from Gillispie gave the Mavericks their first point. The Warriors and Mavericks kept scoring points off each other. The Lady Warriors found momentum when Quesnel tipped into an unguarded area, and with her serves and Ross’ blocks, the ladies took the lead. The Mavericks took a timeout to stop the Warriors’ momentum, which caused Quesnel to serve out. The Lady Warriors found their momentum again when Menendez hit a line shot. With hitting errors from the Mavericks, the Warriors kept pushing the score, and the Mavericks took another time out when Menendez had a serve ace. After the timeout, the Mavericks finally scored when Anna King ‘20 dug up the ball but no one connected. The Warriors hit the twenty-point mark when Menendez hit a roll shot off the opponents block, and the ladies kept pushing the score with hits from Quesnel and a dump from Beckham. They hit game point when the Lady Mavericks made a hitting error from the outside. McNeil fought until the end by hitting off the Warriors defense. Gregorcyzk gained the final point with an outside hit. The Lady Warriors won the second set 25-18.

“We did really good on defense, especially guarding the deep corners,” Lane said.

At the start of the third set, Gillispie served the ball and Fagan scored the first point with a kill. The Lady Warriors went on a scoring streak with kills from Gregorcyzk and Menendez but the Lady Mavericks stopped the Warriors with a hit from the middle, scoring their first point. Both teams traded points for a while until Menendez hit a line shot, starting a rhythm for the Warriors. Fagan and Gregorcyzk continued scoring points with outside hits off of the Mavericks’ blockers. Lola Fernandez ‘23 helped the Lady Warriors hit the twenty-point mark with a serve ace between the Lady Mavericks’ defense. The Mavericks managed to rack up points by blocking the Warriors’ hits and tipping the ball. Gregorcyzk landed a serve ace hitting game point for the Lady Warriors, and Menendez finished the game off with a right side kill between the Mavericks’ blockers. The game ended 25-16 with the Warriors beating the Mavericks in three sets.

“Sometimes you show up and sometimes you don’t and we showed up this game,” head coach Tara Nelson said. “If we play like we are capable of winning then I think we can beat any team in the district.”

The varsity volleyball team will face the Cedar Ridge Rangers on Friday, Sep. 6.