Varsity boys volleyball defeats Wilcox High 3-0

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Melissa Kwan

Libero Jonathan Schwartz (11) digs a hit from Wilcox while Andrew Gu (11), Ray Song (11) and Jarrett Anderson (9) get into hitting position.

by Melissa Kwan, TALON People Editor

The varsity boys volleyball team won their second league match 3-0 against Wilcox High Wednesday to improve to 2-0 in league and 4-8 overall.

The Eagles won the first two sets decisively, scoring 25-14 and 25-16 respectively. The third set was more competitive, with Wilcox starting with a 3-0 lead and coming as close as 19-22 before the Eagles rolled off the last three points straight to win 25-19.

Assistant coach Alex Jones commented on the team’s performance.

“This was the best match of volleyball that we’ve played,” he said. “I think Wilcox came out a little flat because they had a five set win on Friday night, and we were really able to take advantage of that by playing with a lot of energy at the beginning of the match.”

The team started the match with a strong 10-4 lead, earned through tough serving and aggressive hits. Wilcox gained some momentum when its middle hitter scored an impressive kill, but they were unable to sustain it for the rest of the game.

When outside hitter Andrew Gu (11) hit a kill to change the score to 16-9, Wilcox to called their first and only timeout of the match. Even after the timeout, the Eagles went on a run and eventually won the set.

The second set mirrored the first. The Eagles led from beginning to end, starting off winning 10-2 after service runs by Charlie Molin (9) and Christopher Gong (9). Highlights included an ace by defensive specialist Luke Wu (12) and a middle kill by Albert Xu (11).

The third set was closer, as Wilcox’s passing and hitting became more consistent. After the Eagles lost a contested out-of-bounds call they thought was a touch, Wilcox served an ace down the line. Wilcox had an 11-8 lead before the Eagles began their comeback. After a long rally, the Eagles prevailed to tie the game at 11-11. The momentum shifted, and the team finished the game 25-19 on an ace by right side hitter Jarrett Anderson (9).

Andrew led the team with 16 kills. He took advantage when Wilcox had a split block, earning most of his kills through tools and crosscourt hits.

“I think we brought a lot of energy in the first set, and that’s what let us start off really strong, and then we continued that into the second set,” he said. “We got a little complacent in the third set.”

Charlie, a setter on the team, reflected on his setting decisions during the match. He often “set against the flow,” a term for when setters set the opposite direction of where they are moving in order to surprise the blockers on the other side.

“Setting against the flow helps because it will confuse the other blockers and usually will get a lot of [one-blocker-on-one-hitter] hits,” he said.

The varsity team will face Santa Clara High at an away game at 5:45 p.m. tomorrow for their third league match of the season.