By Riley Segal
Staff Writer
Photos by Tucker Judkins
Online Managing Editor
The girls’ volleyball team dominated Blair at home on Tuesday, October 11 in three sets with scores of 25-4, 25-2, and 25-10. This second consecutive league win puts the Tigers at 5-1 and 7-5 overall. While South Pas easily defeated the Vikings, the Tigers gave up unnecessary points due to errors. South Pas also had three players in new positions due to the low-caliber game and an injury to senior Megan Wong.
Senior Molly Feldmeth immediately put the Tigers on the board with a kill to open the first set. Sophomore Kimi Brown soon followed with an ace, though Blair managed to get a point off of a free ball. Brown then went on an eight-point serving streak with several aces scattered throughout until the Vikings earned a point due to a setting error. Feldmeth followed with an eleven-point serving streak with five aces before Blair garnered its final point off of a Tiger serve into the net. Junior Maddie Saito also gave South Pas points with kills, as did Feldmeth. Senior Maddy Hirano concluded the first set with an ace to give the Tigers the set by a wide margin at 25-4.
Feldmeth opened the second set with a kill, and soon South Pas had a 4-0 lead. However, Blair was able to sneak a kill past the Tiger defense. Senior Ariana Woodworth retaliated with a seven-point serving streak after a Feldmeth kill. A South Pas net serve gave the Vikings their final point of the set before a free ball from Feldmeth threw Blair’s defense off balance. Junior Viviana Maradiaga served for the remaining twelve points of the set and earned three aces throughout it. The Tigers continued to dominate offensively, and the Vikings consistently made errors. A Maradiaga ace ended the second set at an impressive score of 25-2.
Junior Sophia Benzoni garnered the first point of the third set with a kill. A Blair save sent the ball back into the Tigers’ court, and South Pas was caught off guard, allowing the Vikings to gain a point. Senior Kate Kutzer soon responded with an ace, and continued to serve for five more points. This is Kutzer’s season debut as she has just come off of an injury. The Tigers’ points continued to climb, and Blair was unable to defend against South Pas’ hits and serves. Feldmeth and Woodworth both went on serving streaks. However, the Vikings managed to earn a considerably greater amount of points compared to the previous two, and even came within four points of South Pas at 13-9. A Saito kill allowed the Tigers to distance themselves again, and were aided by many strong serves from junior Lily Turner-Kipke. Feldmeth had a final kill before three consecutive Blair errors finished the game at 25-10.
“We had very efficient, strong serving, which is what kept the score low, but our weakness was communication while we were in new positions,” Feldmeth said. “I expect us to come out strong in the Temple City game because we are nearing the end of league, and we all want the league title so badly.”
The Tigers next play Temple City on the road on Thursday, October 13, where South Pas plans to continue on its winning streak to improve its league record to 6-1 and overall record to 8-5. The Tigers beat the Rams in five sets in the two teams’ first league matchup.
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