By Michael Wojtychiw
Anytime Lane and Young meet in a game, whether it be regular season or postseason, it’s usually guaranteed to be a barnburner. When the two squads met on the volleyball court last Thursday, both were looking to make moves in the Super division of girls volleyball.
The teams didn’t disappoint either as the Dolphins rallied and then held off Lane to bring home a thrilling three-set win, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22 at Lane.
“I really liked that the girls started out really slow but didn’t allow that to affect them in the second set,” Young coach Michael Quevedo said. “A lot of times in the beginning of the season, if they lost the first set, they kind of decided it was just done from there on out.
“Seeing their resilience was really special.”
The first set was all Lane as the home team came out looking like a team that had something to prove. After falling in another three-set thriller just two days before to Jones, the Champions were looking to split with the conference’s top two teams.
A kill by outside hitter/defensive specialist Olivia Sprinkle broke a 6-6 tie and allowed the Champions to go on a 13-6 run, extending their lead to 20-13 and not allowing the Dolphins to get back into the set. The visitors would cut the lead down to two twice at 20-18 and 22-20, but could not get any closer.
“We had a lot of energy in that first set,” Lane coach Norman Kwong said. “Our blocks were really crisp in that first set and that was great to see.”
“We’ve really learned that we’re on the cusp. Physically they’re ready, but mentally we just have to hunker down a little bit, minimize mistakes and that goes for any match. As long as we continue to serve tough, minimize mistakes and talk to each other, play cohesiveness and have a good time, winning should come.”
After a shocking loss in the first set, the Dolphins looked like an entirely different team in the second.
The Dolphins were able to take advantage of multiple unforced Lane errors, including two rotation errors, a double-contact error, net error and picking up four aces.
“We started out pretty slow in that first set,” Young’s Maribella Espino said. “We weren’t running our offense as fast as we did in the next two sets and their energy was a lot better than ours.”
“It all came down to accountability and making sure people aren’t left floating,” the Young coach said. “When you see people floating, it’s all about making them feel like you’re in their corner and making it feel like they’re appreciated. They definitely did that and came together.”
Both teams were familiar with three-set matches, with Young having played in three prior types of matches and the Dolphins with five. All of Young’s three-set matches had been against a number of suburban teams in tournaments and non-conference matches.
Having played in those matches really prepared them for matches against some of their conference opponents.
“We’ve really been analyzing our strengths and not hiding our weaknesses,” Quevedo said. “We want to make sure that when we feel a part of our game is struggling, we bring it to light and work on it together.”
“That experience definitely helped us today,” Espino said. “We usually play those games to 15 as well since they’ve been a lot of nonconference games, so we know how to execute in the third set.
“And in practices, we also work on finishing off matches in third sets and that helped us a lot as well.”
Young looked like it would run away with this set as well, building a 17-10 lead, extending it eventually to 22-14.
But that’s when the Champions began their comeback. Addison Stoner stepped to the service line with her squad down 23-16. The senior setter reeled off six consecutive points before Espino put an end to a run with a thunderous kill.
Espino put the match away on the next play with an ace.
“I really just like to emphasize leadership with them,” Quevedo said. “I just try to make sure that they put it on themselves to step up and make sure that they’re the ones that create the change they want to see.”
“I really think our energy is what’s propelled us to this good start to the season,” Espino said. “It’s what motivates us to do better and when one person is playing better, that just gives us better energy.
“In the timeout right at the end, our coaches essentially just told us to get it together. He told us ‘You look like you’re messing around. Get it together.’”
Even though his squad didn’t come out victorious, Kwong was happy with what he saw from his squad.
“We’ve been in a lot of the matches we’ve lost but forus, we just need to go back to the drawing board and learn from these losses,” Kwong said. “I truly believe that when we run on all cylinders, we’re going to be a team we’re reckoned with.”
The Dolphins prepare for Jones, which has arguably been its biggest rival of late, for a bigtime matchup on the 22nd, while Lane looks to bounce back after having played both Young and Jones tough.
Jordan Rodgers led the Dolphins with 13 kills, while Sprinkle had seven for the Champions. Young setter Ava Schabes dished out 31 assists as well.
*Lane Tech’s new team nickname is now the Champions, as voted on by alumni, students and staff
Gallery Below:
