The Tigers persisted throughout the match, but their defense was not strong enough to beat the Falcons.
Story by Julia Gildersleeve
Staff Writer
Girls’ volleyball fell to the Crescenta Valley Falcons in a league home game on Sept. 16, 2026. The Tigers drew a large crowd of students and parents, who flooded into the bleachers before the game.
The first set had a rocky start, with players hitting multiple serves out the back of the court from both teams. However, after a dig from senior outside hitter Bella Ventura, freshman outside hitter Julia Garibyan smashed a hit on open net onto the Falcons’ side, increasing the score to 6–5 with the Tigers in the lead. Throughout the set, the Tigers clearly communicated and kept their spirits high, despite Crescenta Valley being right on their tails. After a skillful dig from senior defensive specialist Rian Sanchez, the Tigers comfortably secured the lead, 12–9.
Several long rallies ended with the ball smashed onto the Tigers’ side by Crescenta Valley’s 6’1 middle blocker. The Tigers’ defense was slowly breaking apart due to these hits and strategically placed tips by the Falcons’ outside hitter. Even when the score reached 20–16, with the Tigers trailing, Crescenta Valley spared no mercy in slamming hits into every unoccupied space on the court. The first set ended with a win for the Falcons, 25–20, and a match score of 1–0.
The Tigers began the second set diving across the court for every ball and playing scrappy defense. Senior opposite hitter and setter Evan Taylor perfectly matched the timing of junior setter Kayla Yau’s set and smashed a powerful hit down on Crescenta Valley’s side, which sped to the ground before making contact with anyone’s platform to pass the ball. This play boosted the Tigers’ score to 10–5, with Crescenta Valley in the lead. Ventura’s speedy approach and strong hits made her the primary source of scoring points for the Tigers, despite them being down 17–16. The set was then tied 17–17 and then 20–20 before Taylor rollshotted deep into the court on the Falcons’ side. The set was close, but the Tigers pulled through and emerged victorious with a score of 25–21. The match score was now tied, 1–1.
With the start of the third set came loud cheers from both benches and student sections. The Tigers were down 10–4 and then 13-7. The Falcons’ aggressive attacks left the Tigers’ defense in shambles. But, with good communication and ball control, the Tigers began to close the point gap. However, the entire set came down to the number of missed serves per side. In the end, the Tigers were relentlessly attacked and lost 25–18, with the match score 2–1 in favor of the Falcons.
“My overall thoughts of the game [are] that we started off pretty similar to how we had our last two matches that also resulted in the opposite of a win. However, when we made that comeback and won the second set, we finally, finally dug deep in listening to each other, learning as a team, and trying to share responsibility,” varsity head coach Chris Chapell’e said. “Overall, [winning] needs just more time and effort to work on and a lot more trust, especially with a strong group of eight seniors.”
Continuing on with the game, the fourth set involved more missed serves and monster blocks from Crescenta Valley. The Tigers tried their best to keep their defence together, but to no avail. The Falcons led 10–6 and then 20–10. Once Crescenta Valley reached 23 points, everybody in the crowd knew the game was over. However, the Tigers kept the set going until they finally fell, 25–16, with the final match score of 3–1.
“I think we can obviously do a lot better so that the results can be different,” Chapell’e said. “Ultimately, I think it was still positive and I’m still grateful of the effort of everybody.”
The Tigers are attending the Durango Fall Classic this weekend from Sept. 18 to 19 in Las Vegas, NV to compete against teams from California, Hawaii, Texas, Kentucky, Arizona, Nevada, as well as teams from other states.