Carlmont’s varsity Lady Scots shut out the South City Warriors in three sets on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The girls were able to maintain their winning record through high levels of energy and strong offensive plays.
The first set began with early contributions from senior Sabrina Miller and juniors Alex Lay and Elena Mateus. Good serves from senior Alyssa Espiritu and weak plays by the Warriors brought the score 6-0 Carlmont within minutes. However, through quick kills and Carlmont’s own serves to the net, the Warriors closed the gap 10-7.
The second half of the first period remained close as each kill made by South City was countered by another for Carlmont. Senior Lauren Tierney saw several opportunities to end plays early, dumping the ball in the hopes of catching the Warriors off-guard. Her well-planned tips and the team’s communicative plays brought the score 15-12, and the Lady Scots remained ahead until winning the first set 25-19.
The Warriors were unable to get their hits past Carlmont’s strong defensive blocking in the second set. Despite their early 5-0 lead, the Lady Scots allowed South City to consecutively earn several points through lack of communication on the court. With questionable serves from the Lady Scots, players like Mateus encouraged their teammates to refocus.
Mateus said, “Our communication was good and the setters did a great job, but we could work on missing less serves. They’re such a critical part of the game.”
High levels of energy from the Lady Scots brought Carlmont up 18-8. Despite their efforts, the girls couldn’t make the dives to keep South City’s ball in play, and the Warriors closed the gap 23-17. With two more points seen by each team, the set ended 25-19.
“Though we played strong this game, Carlmont can work on coming back from points lost,” parent Lisa Stainton said. “When the girls fell behind it was usually by several points at a time, not just one.”
South City got an early lead in set number three by weaker serves from the Lady Scots. Morrow was successful in finding gaps on South City’s court to put the ball and earn points. Tierny continuously tipped the ball over the net on the second play, catching the Warriors off-guard. Strong kills from junior Mia Hogan allowed Carlmont to take home the win 25-15.
Though the girls had weaker moments throughout the night, they played their game and shut out South City in three sets.
“Every now and then we would lose focus, but in the end we would regather ourselves and come together to pull through and score,” Morrow said. “I came into the game expecting to play my best.”
