The Carlmont Scots varsity boys volleyball team smashed the Aragon Dons, winning 3-1 at Carlmont High School on Tuesday night.
Last year, the Scots and Dons both beat each other once. This time, the Scots were confident going into the game, having a 6-4 record in the league and ranked one spot higher than the Dons.
The Dons started off the game with the first point; however, the Scots quickly took the lead. As the teams rallied back and forth, the Dons slowly started to catch up and tied the game at 18-18. Despite the Dons’ hard efforts, the Scots managed to pull away, winning the first set 25-21.
“There were a few injuries on the court that affected our play, but we should have been able to play through that,” said Tyler Rivera, a sophomore at Aragon High School.
The second set started with the Dons in the lead again. However, just like in the first set, the Scots surged past them and created a massive lead. The Scots easily closed out the set with great defense and offense, winning 25-15.
“We played very well today. We were missing one of our key players, Tyler Louie, but Ryan was able to come in for him and he did really well,” said Carlmont sophomore Orion Gurskis.
At the start of the third set, the Dons knew that they had to win to stay in the game. Rally after rally, both teams exchanged shots and were tied at 7-7. This set, however, was different from the other sets, as the Dons were on fire, racking up points. They were winning 18-11, leading the Scots to call a timeout to regroup and adjust their strategy. After the timeout, the Dons continued to maintain their lead, winning the set 25-19.
“Overall, the effort was there. In the third set, we fought really hard and were able to come out victorious,” Rivera said.
Heading into the fourth set, the Scots wanted a win to avoid a fifth set. The Scots dominated the first half with a 22-14 lead. However, with the CCS Championships on the line, the Dons played their hardest and started to come back. They fought their way back to a score of 24-22.
The gym fell completely quiet as the Dons had a chance of winning the set. This silence didn’t last long though, with a loud roar echoing through the gym after the Scots won the last set 25-22. Despite a valiant effort from the Dons, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Scots. In the end, the Scots won three sets to one.
Though the Scots were able to win the game, the head coach still had some things in mind that they needed to work on.
“Definitely we need to improve on serve receiving,” said Carlmont head coach Daniel Nelson.
