Mona Murhamer

Senior Elena Mateus (21) swings hard for a deep-corner kill against the Sequoia Cherokees.

It was just another good, old-fashioned game between rivals.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Scots and the Sequoia Cherokees battled hard against each other to defend their names in the Carlmont-Sequoia rivalry.

“This game was different from others because we wanted the win against our rival team a lot more,” said junior Hannah Wright.

The two teams played hard, but the Scots swept the Cherokees in all three out of five sets.

“A lot of our players were injured,” said Cherokees coach Dustyn Woropay. “That being said, Carlmont is a good team, and they played very well.”

The game started off with Carlmont’s serve and a quick sideout by Sequoia.  However, the Scots came back with enthusiasm as senior Elena Mateus fired up the team.

The set continued with consistent offensive force from sophomore Maya McClellan and senior Alexis Morrow.  The team benefited from the hustle of Mateus and senior Erin Alonso in the back row to pick up shanked balls and hard kills from the opposing team.

The Scots took the first set 25-14.

The second set started off quickly as Sequoia grew accustomed to Carlmont’s strategies.  The Cherokees fended off McClellan’s strong hits with equally tough blocks and managed to stay right on the Scots’ heels throughout the set.

Senior Mia Hogan fought back harder with difficult-to-pass kills to the deep corners and lines, resulting in zero offensive errors and 14 kills throughout the whole game.

“[Hogan] was awesome today.  I’m really happy with her as a player,” said Carlmont coach Chris Crader.

Although Sequoia managed to tie the game at 15 all, a tip from Hogan off of a block by Sequoia secured the Scots in a 25-23 win.

Still reeling from the close win of the second set, the adrenaline-filled Scots shot ahead of the now-tired Cherokees.

“We definitely need to work on not losing energy,” said Sequoia sophomore Gaby Luna-Victoria.

Mateus set the tone for the set with a deep corner kill that secured the first point for Carlmont.

The Scots’ light spirits and perseverance to not let the ball drop kept the third set quick and to the point. After a time-out by Sequoia, the Cherokees were able to pull out five more points. This burst of scoring couldn’t stop the Scots though, and the Cherokees lost the game to Carlmont at 25-11.

Crader said, “We did a lot of things right, but we still need to fine-tune some little things if we want to get to where we want to be.”