Carlmont’s varsity volleyball game against Menlo-Atherton High School on Thursday, Oct. 2, was short and full of surprises. Though the Lady Scots were shut out in three sets against Menlo-Atherton’s undefeated team, the girls played increasingly well throughout the night.
Carlmont began the first set with outside serves and spikes to the net, resulting in Menlo-Atherton’s early lead. Despite their setback, the Lady Scots supported each other and closed the gap through communication. Senior Lauren Tierney offered safe sets that allowed junior Elena Mateus to execute spikes and earn points for the Lady Scots. The Bears won the first set 10-25, with the majority of their points awarded through Carlmont’s own mistakes that were corrected in both the second and third sets.
The Lady Scots entered their second set with renewed energy and excitement for the game. Every point earned by Menlo-Atherton was followed by another from the Lady Scots, with kills from both junior Alexis Morrow and senior Alyssa Espiritu.
Players like junior and libero Erin Alonso worried about lack of direction in the game. “We have lost a lot of great players since last year. I looked up to the upperclassmen….this year, we’re still trying to find the leadership on our team,” Alonso said.
Mateus stepped up and directed the show, warning her teammates when serves were out and calling the plays, keeping the Lady Scots together and focused.
Despite kills from juniors Mia Hogan and Alex Lay, the Lady Scots were unable to win the second game. The girls lost the set 21-25, determined to win the next.
Early victories in the third and final set of the game put the Lady Scots ahead 5-2. With freeballs from Mateus and Tierny and kills from Hogan, the Lady Scots held Menlo-Atherton 10-10.
Alonso suddenly collapsed on the back line, screaming in pain from a calf cramp. Carlmont athletic trainer Ari Carter and varsity coach Chris Crader ran onto the court to support Alonso.
“My calf became sore and I couldn’t move my leg,” Alonso said. “I rolled it out and powered through the game.” She was up and encouraging her team in a couple of minutes.
The close set was briefly interrupted by a yellow card for Menlo-Atherton’s coach Ron Whitmill, awarded for arguing with the referees. Alonso’s serves earned two points for the Lady Scots, and senior Natalie Tussy made kills. Morrow ended an intense rally with a strong spike. Combined with Mateus’s directive calls and Tussy’s serves, the plays brought the score 22-22.
M-A won the third set of the night 23-25 due to weaker blocking from the Lady Scots, securing the Bears’ victory.
“I think that we were really energetic throughout the game. Even though we were down a few points, we persevered and put up a good fight,” said junior Natalie Stainton. “We showed a lot of heart on the court and passion for the game.”
Though the girls were disappointed with their loss, Carlmont displayed teamwork by improving their plays through the sets and coming closer to beating M-A in each game.
Tussy said, “We could’ve started stronger, but we did a good job of getting closer in each set. I think that we worked really well as a team and had a lot of unity. Even though we lost, we fought harder for every point than we have all season.”
Matthew Rohren • Oct 9, 2014 at 5:31 am
I think the article written by Staff Writer Naomi Asrir covering the Lady Scots volleyball game was an excellent portrayal of the game. I would like to here more from this very talented writer.
Well Done! Keep up the great work Naomi!
Matthew Rohren