Carlmont won its first NorCal championship in a hard-fought game against Berean Christian. The Scots ended their historic season with a 3-2 victory over the Eagles.
The Scots established an early lead against the Eagles in the first set, but the Eagles quickly caught up as the set carried on. Despite Berean Christian’s best efforts, Carlmont won the first set with a score of 25-21.
“In the first set, it was pretty hyped up, and we took away the first set. But as the game went on, we kept trading set wins, which definitely affected team morale,” said Maher.
The Eagles came into the second set reenergized as the Scots worked to match the intensity. The two teams kept the score even until Berean Christian was able to pull ahead and win the set 25-23.
“Our team was going through a lot of emotional highs and lows,” Maher said. “Some people did not feel like they were playing up to our usual par.”
As the game went into the third set, family and friends from both teams packed into Carlmont’s Terry Stogner Gym. Spectators and players felt a new excitement as cheers and chants intensified.
Gracia Shao-Xue
“This was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had, not only from Carlmont fans, but also so many people coming from Berean Christian,” Maher said.
Soon, the Scots reinstated their lead over the Eagles with the third set, which ended at a score of 25-20 in favor of Carlmont. Scots struggled to capitalize off of their momentum, however.
In a set filled with cheers and reminders from the announcer for fans to refrain from entering the court, Berean Christian matched Carlmont’s two sets by winning the fourth set. Closing out the penultimate set with a score of 25-18, both the Eagles and Scots were eager to finish strong and claim the NorCal title.
“We had a little talk on the bench in between sets and got some renewed focus. Then, they just put everything into that last set and smoked them,” Nelson said.
The defense was especially important to the Scots’ victory, with plays from junior middle Cyrus Wong making a big difference.
“It was 12-3 and Cyrus (Wong) blocked a shot that went straight down. It was absolutely wild. That was what we needed to push us over the edge,” said junior opposite hitter Eli Nathan.
Carlmont finished the set 15-4, securing a 3-2 win over the Eagles to win the NorCal Division III title.
“The challenge for me is to put as much load and stress on them as I can in the beginning so that when we get to this point, they already know how to handle it all,” Nelson said.
Stella Pavao is a current senior at Carlmont High School and a staff writer for Scot Scoop News. She is also the senior class president and a member of Carlmont's Junior State of America. When off campus, Stella can be found listening to Kacey Musgraves or watching Formula One racing. To view her portfolio, click here.
