On Thursday, September 28, the Islander Women’s Volleyball Team captured a drama-filled 5-setter at home versus Mission Bay, with set scores, 22-25, 25-8, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11. With the win, the team’s record improves to 2-2 in league and 15-11 overall.
Sets 1 – 4
The Islanders led for most of the first set, but Mission Bay went on a run and charged back to take the lead and eventually win the set, 25-22. In Set 2, Coronado rebounded quickly, ripping off eight consecutive points before Mission Bay scored. The Islanders played a nearly error-free set, winning 25-8. In the third, Coronado stayed strong but Mission Bay stepped up their game and, as Coach Adeile Ahmu put it, “Mission Bay kind of came back and picked up on some of our offense.” Coronado was able to hold off Mission Bay in Set 3, winning a close set, 25-22.
Siblings and former CHS volleyball players Dominic DeNardi (Class of 2018) and Isabel DeNardi (Class of 2016) attended the game. Dominic explained, “They have been playing well so far. The communication is there. They have great potential to go on a deep playoff run this year. With their youth, they have the potential to be a powerhouse in the coming years.” Isabel added, “They have some talented key players such as setter Emily Page, Libero* Avalon Haro, and outside hitter, Sadie Proctor, to name a few.”
*Sidenote: Libero, (Italian: “free”) player on an indoor volleyball team who serves as a defensive specialist and is not allowed to serve or rotate to the front line. [Source: Britannica]
In the fourth set, Mission Bay led 19-14 and Coronado began a mini-run, winning three consecutive to narrow the gap, 19-17. Mission Bay gained steam again, however, going up 24-19. Coronado scored four consecutive points to get close, 24-23, in favor of Mission Bay. Mission Bay scored the next point to win the fourth set, 25-23.
Deciding Fifth Set
The teams were now tied at two sets each, leading to the 15-point deciding set. After 12 points, the score was tied, 6-6. Mission Bay scored four unanswered points to take a 10-6 lead. A kill by Sydney Jones and two by Proctor brought Coronado to within 1, at 10-9. After Mission Bay’s kill of its own, setter Page had an opportunity for a hit and took it, getting the kill, and bringing the score to 10-11, still down by a point. Coronado managed to win five consecutive points, finally taking the lead, and winning the set and the match, 15-11. The final point of the night was also the longest, and included attacks and digs on both sides of the net.
Highlights of the Game
Coach Ahmu shared, “I thought it was a great fight. Coming off of the loss [in the first set], and then coming off of that win [in the second], they still played hard in that third set. They did a great job all around.” She continued, “[The win] was a team effort for the most part, but I also think that our strong players were Sadie, our outside, connecting with Emily Page, our setter. They are a great duo. . . Lydia [Schutt] coming in defensively, playing a great role in the back row, and then Sydney Jones coming in off the bench, she was cold, she didn’t play for three games, and she came in and it worked.”
Seniors Emily Wygal and Ruby Deckman shared their highlights of the match, both from the fifth set. Wygal shared, “A highlight for me was when Emily Page hit the ball because she is a setter and doesn’t get a lot of chances [to hit], so when she hit the ball and got a kill…it was so amazing and I think that it also brought our energy up a lot.” Deckman added that her highlight was “when Sydney Jones was serving, our outside, who went in and she got multiple serves in a row in the last set.”
Across the season, team leaders in multiple categories include Proctor and Wygal in kills, averaging 3.1 and 2.8 kills per set respectively; Page in assists at 6.7 per set; Deckman in blocks at .6 per set; and Haro in digs at an average of 3.8 per set.
Next up is league leader Scripps Ranch at Scripps Ranch on Tuesday October 3 at 6 pm.
