The Carlmont junior varsity girls volleyball team dominated the Menlo Bears on Tuesday, Oct. 14, winning 2-0.
This match was very important for helping the Scots stay No. 1 in the league, boosting their league record to 9-1. The Scots came in confident, this being their third match against the Bears, with a record of 2-0 over them previously.
Early on in the first set, the Scots put pressure on the Bears, leading 11-3. However, as Menlo got possession, they went on a serving run, putting the Bears in the lead at 12-11.
With the score at 12-11, Bears in the lead, Carlmont head coach Mark Patenaude called a timeout.
“Well, part of it is one thing we’ve been struggling with all year is that we allow our opponent to get a run on us. So we were up, I think, eleven to three. And then it came, we allowed them to come back eleven to twelve,” Patenaude said.
The timeouts’ effect was noticeable, with the Scots bouncing back and going on a 9-point serving run from Carlmont junior setter Ashlyn Wong. This run brought the Scots to 21-12, giving them a strong upper hand for the rest of the first set.
Ultimately, Carlmont prevailed in the first set 25-17 due to Patenaude’s essential timeout and Wong’s serving.
After the tensions in the first set, the second set came along much more smoothly for the Scots.
Patenaude allocated much of this success to one of their star players, sophomore right side Reagan Simon.
“Her personality is just something special. And you saw her energy is amazing. She’s been working extremely hard on her technique,” Patenaude said.
Simon secured a critical block late into the second set that practically sealed the victory for the Scots.
“Being five feet, four inches tall, I think I felt extremely happy because I had the right opportunity. So I just went for it, and I was just extremely excited,” Simon said.
In the end, Carlmont took the victory 2-0, winning the second set 25-15.
“I was really confident and excited because we’ve beaten them twice before, and I just really wanted to beat them today because we want to stay first,” said Camila Wang, a freshman outside hitter for Carlmont.
