Freshman Volleyball Clips the Hendrickson Hawk’s Wings 2-0

Anouka Saha, Opinions Editor| September 15, 2018

  • The freshman team congratulates the Hendrickson team on a good game.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Isabel Garcia ’22 hits the ball towards the Hendrickson Hawks.

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  • Militzy Gremillion-Llanos ’22 and Shawna Rogers ’22 jump to spike the ball towards the opposing team.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Kaci Ponsart ’22 bumps the ball up into the air.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Camille Marshall ’22 bumps the call back towards her teammates.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Sophia Pope ’22 hits the ball towards the opposing team.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • The freshman team celebrates after scoring a point with the Varsity team in the back cheering as well.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Camille Marshall ’22 and Sumedha Jayagopal ’22 both lung to hit the ball.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Militzy Gremillion-Llanos ’22 bumps the ball in a game against Hendrickson on Oct. 16.

    Darya Mohajeri
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  • Camille Marshall ’22 lunges for the ball.

    Darya Mohajeri
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The freshman volleyball team crushed the Hendrickson Hawks 2-0 on Sept. 14. Though the Warriors initially fell behind, the team quickly gained momentum and came out on top.

The game started with a strong serve by Teddie Hall ‘22, but the first point was snatched by the Hawks. The Warriors quickly bounced back with a serve by Sumedha Jayagopal’s ‘22 serve, tying the score 1-1. Both teams continued to not let the other gain very many points on them. For a while, the Warriors were winning 5-3 but despite a great tip from Milacey Gremillion-Llanos ‘22, the Hawks were able to narrow the Warrior’s lead, eventually surpassing them. The Warriors tried to get ahead, but to no avail. Aria Hegde ‘22 had well-placed sets and Camille Marshall ‘22 spiked hard, but the Hawks still won the set with a score of 25-20.

“I think we did kind of bad the first set; we weren’t awake enough,” Shawna Rogers ‘22 said. “But in the second set we really came back and the energy was up.”

The second set began with the Hawks pulling ahead at 2-0. Westwood continued to trail two points behind until Hall went for a kill, reducing the lead to 5-4. The team continued to play hard, and Kaci Ponstart ‘22 helped tie the score by setting accurately to her teammates. Shawna Rogers’ ‘22 aggressive hits and Lauren Lopato’s ‘22 powerful serves helped the Warriors gain more points. The round ended with an ace by Hall, effectively making the score 25-15.

“We had a lot of energy. It helped us do well, and we worked together as a team,” said Coach Mackenzie McGalliard.

The Warriors finished strong, claiming the first point in the last set, with a strong hit by Sarah McCaughey ‘22. Later, McCaughey increased the lead with a cleverly aimed tip, making it 5-1. Unfortunately, the Hawks also started picking up steam and were able to tie the score at 10-10. The Warriors pulled ahead slightly with an ace by Jayagopal which made the score 15-12. After that, the Hawk’s were barely able to score at all, faced with unreturnable balls and hard serves. From McCaughey’s incredible aces and Marshall’s aggressive spikes, there was a lot of scrappy playing tonight and the Warriors were able to snag a victory, at 25-13.

“The best part was our comeback. We started working together as a team and talking a lot,” Jayagopal said. “We had more energy on the court. We know now that we have to start talking from the beginning.”

Their next game is on Sept. 18 against the Vandegrift Vipers at Vandegrift High School.