The Carlmont junior varsity girls’ volleyball team won against the Sequoia Ravens in a close match on Thursday, Oct. 2. A decision by the referee, controversial to some, allowed them to come out on top 2-0.
Carlmont’s hard-earned victory marked their third win this season, an achievement that their coach, Mark Patenaude, did not take lightly.
“In the second set, Sequoia had a couple of really good servers, and we struggled with serve receiving,” Patenaude said. He attributed this partly to the fact that players were playing in unfamiliar positions, a gamble that he hoped would help them develop critical skills.
This shift in strategy was noticeable throughout the first set, with the Scots getting an early lead of 18-7. After that, the score evened out to 24-20, and tensions ran high as teams huddled to discuss strategy in the last couple of rallies.
With the teams neck-and-neck, a disagreement on whether the ball was within bounds caused controversy in the game.
“A lot of us in the stands felt like one of the calls was miscalled,” said Kris Dreaux, a spectator whose daughter was playing for Sequoia.
The referee’s decision to count the play tipped the scales in Carlmont’s favor, allowing them to win the point and the first set.
The second set was tense throughout, with a very close score up until the end. With long rallies and impressive dives from both sides, the teams battled it out at 17-17 for their final points.
“You have to look at your assets. You may lose some attacking, you may lose some serving, so you have to balance it out and know your team well,” Patenaude said.
In the end, Carlmont pulled through and won the game.
“I think everyone played their best, everyone put in all their energy. I’m really proud of us. I think we played really well today, even though we lost,” said Julia King, a freshman playing for the Ravens.
