Story by Gavin Bartolome & Owen Hou
Staff Writers
Photos by Madeline Madrigal
Staff Photographer
Volleyball defended an initial lead against the Bellflower Buccaneers, winning 3-2 on Tuesday, March 4. After an initial push, the Tigers brought together their coordination and layers to deliver a final blow to the game.
“I think the energy kind of fluctuated throughout the game. In the end, we really ended on a high, and we were able to bring home the win,” junior middle blocker Kyle Kirchen said.
After the Buccaneers snatched the initial point, the Tigers launched a comeback with layered offensive strikes. Sophomore outside hitter Luke Liu led the Tigers’ first assault, seizing six points off of smashes and tips to gain the lead 7-1. However, after the Tigers lost the serve, both teams set up constant pressure on each other, with the Buccaneers frequently getting the Tigers to collapse towards the net. With stunning kills from freshman outside hitter Evan Chang, the Tigers defended their lead, going 15-8.
With anxiousness scratching at the back of the Buccaneers’ minds, the team started to show cracks in their defense. Chaining the teams’ skillset, the Tigers continued to dominate the rest of the first set, making the most of tips to throw the Buccaneers off balance winning the first set 25-16.
The Tigers went into the second set with a strong start, as senior middle blocker James Dowd won the first point with a spike. This soon ended, however, as the visiting team surprised the Tiger defense with a relentless assault. Unable to recover in time, the Tiger defense crumbled in the onslaught, offensively overwhelmed. Although they came close after Dowd tipped the ball over the net to get the Tigers just behind, 9-8, the gap between the two teams only continued to widen, with the Buccaneers eventually closing out the set 25-13.
With the match now tied 1-1, both teams entered the third set riled up. Dowd notched the first point with a bold quick attack, putting the Tigers ahead 1-0. Yet, the Buccaneers followed, matching any points the Tigers made. With both teams tied at 6-6, the set was won by whomever could hold on the longest.
The Tigers loosened first, having to dig for the volleyball to make recoveries. Slowly, the Buccaneers pulled ahead, building off of their own momentum in a strong push to seize the set. Although the Tigers put up a strong effort to hold on, with a strong dig from Chang, the Buccaneers took the set 25-15.
Energized by their victory in the third set, the Buccaneers continued their momentum into the fourth, amassing a five-point lead, 8-3. Notably however, the Tigers fought back, clawing their way to a 9-9 tie after Dowd blocked the ball back to the Buccaneers, and continued to lock their opponents in a fierce struggle.
Even so, the Buccaneers rose to a 22-18 lead, leaving the Tigers lagging four points behind. Gradually, the Tigers caught up, eventually seizing the lead after Dowd dumped the ball over the net, making the score 23-22. From there, the Tigers continued to apply pressure until the opposing team hit the ball out, resulting in a narrow Tiger set victory, 25-23.
The teams tied early on in the fifth set, as both teams entered on pins and needles. The Tigers claimed the first point with a spike from Chang that barely dropped in bounds. Both teams struggled against each other momentarily before the Buccaneers missed a jump serve and took a timeout, allowing the Tigers to reconvene at 10-8. With this, the Tigers were able to deliver the last fatal blows as the Buccaneer defense came to a staggering halt, finishing the set 15-11 and ultimately winning 3-2.
“There’s a lot of eye-opening stuff that we can continue to work on as a team to better ourselves. So we can focus on that [and] I think we would do well in a season, just working on the little things,” Head Coach Ivy Chew said.
The Tigers will play their next game against Flintridge Prep, in a home non-conference game on Friday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.
