Breaking their recent winning streak, JV Orange Volleyball lost to the Stony Point Tigers 0-2 on Tuesday, Sept. 24. While previous games saw the Warriors take an aggressive and calculated approach to dominate the opponent, the Tigers incessantly eroded away the Warriors’ energy and spirit until Westwood eventually yielded both sets to the Tigers after a tiresome fight.
“Personally, I think we definitely could’ve had [the game],” Setter Emily Xue ‘27 said. “But they’re a strong team, so I don’t think we should be that hard on ourselves.”
Diverging from the auspicious trend at the beginning of the last few games, the Warriors lost the first few points of the set to the Tigers, alluding to their inevitable defeat. Gaining the upper hand from the very beginning, the Tigers’ quick lead pressured the Warriors into upping their game to try and push their way up the scoreboard. As the game advanced, the set rapidly became action-packed, with both teams neck-in-neck, resulting in numerous gridlock situations throughout the sets. These hard-fought points led to long rallies, with the Tigers pushing through each time to further their lead.
“[While] we definitely utilized more tips [and] more line shots, I think we could’ve done [much] better with getting around [their] block,” Xue said.
In a desperate attempt to catch up, the Warriors increased their clarity and motivation. This push equalized the score as the Tigers subsequently began to tire and fumble at the net. This pressure on each team came in inconsistent waves throughout the set. Soon, the Tigers upped their offense following a Warrior lead forcing the Warriors to drive the ball out of bounds on their serves. Now, overconfidence was the Warriors’ downfall as the solid line of Tiger defense put Stony Point in a five-point lead towards the end of the first set. However, luckily for the Warriors, the Tiger line broke. Capitalizing on this moment, the Warriors looked to strike, catching up to the Stony Point lead.
Although mid-set sees the renewed appearance of the long rallies between both teams the Warriors put in the energy to stretch out the point, eventually yielding the point to the Tigers. These missteps further highlighted their uncharacteristic low energy. The Warriors huddled up and came back to resume the game with fresh spirit and aggression. This renewed energy equalized the score towards the very end of the set 23-23. However, this last gasp soon dissipated, and with a quick Tiger-dominated rally, ended the set in the Tigers’ favor.
“I know we could’ve done [much] better,” Outside Hitter Nithila Rajkumar ‘27 said. “But I know we can beat them in the second round.”
Starting off the second set similar to the first one, the Warriors yielded the first few points of the set to the Tigers, further foreshadowing their eventual defeat. Instead of coming back with a renewed spirit like the last few games, they began to tire even more, leading them to increasingly fumble the ball out of bounds numerous times putting the Tigers in an even deeper lead. Fortunately, the strong rallies of the first set made a reappearance, as multiple fumbles from the Tigers motivated the Warriors to bring their game once more. However, the Warriors saw a quick turnaround in the Tiger defense, which made it difficult for the Warriors to break past them.
“We [had] just decided to play smarter [after the first set],” Rajkumar said. “[We really needed to] work on more of the zones that could score versus just slamming the ball down.”
Any efforts of a Warrior comeback are stopped by a rock-solid Tiger defense. While the Warriors could celebrate a temporary lead towards the end of the set, the Tigers soon gained a permanent lead which pushed them to the end of the set, where the Warriors succumbed to a second set defeat, 19-25, losing the game 0-2.
“[Honestly], I think we’ve already been getting a lot better with the more games we play and the practices we’ve been having together,” Rajkumar said. “I think we’re a strong team, and our goal is to beat [Stony Point], and any of the [other] teams that we lost to, in the second round.”
The Warriors will play their next home game against Manor on Friday, Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the fieldhouse gym.
