Girls’ volleyball sweeps San Marino in three sets

By Riley Segal
Staff Writer

Photos by Matt Scholtz
Photography Editor

The girls’ volleyball team conquered rival San Marino in an away match in three sets with scores of 25-19, 25-14, and 25-22 on Thursday, September 29. The Tigers’ record now stands at 3-0 in league and 5-4 overall. South Pas dominated the Titans throughout the entire match and were able to secure a quick victory.

The Tigers swiftly earned a six point lead before San Marino was able to earn a single point. Sophomore Kimi Brown and junior Maddie Saito continued to distance South Pas with a kill each, and senior Ariana Woodworth went on a seven-point serving streak, scattered with a couple aces. South Pas also earned many points off of Titan errors, such as out-of-bounds serves and hits. However, San Marino was still able to spike the ball several times into holes in the Tigers’ defense, and several South Pas unforced errors gave the Titans points as well. A San Marino serve into the net ended the set at 25-19.

Molly Feldmeth gets a quick kill off a set from Lily Turner-Kipke.
Molly Feldmeth gets a quick kill off a set from Lily Turner-Kipke.

The second set opened with a rally, which was kept alive on the South Pas side by saves from senior Maddy Hirano, though the Titans came out with the first point after a Tiger hit into the net. Senior Molly Feldmeth immediately responded with a kill. Another kill from Feldmeth and an ace from Brown put South Pas in front, leaving the Titans unable to come close for the duration of the set. South Pas’ points steadily climbed, aided by kills from senior Amelia De Young, Feldmeth and Saito, as well as an ace from junior Lily Turner-Kipke. Hirano continued to provide solid defense as the Tigers continued to constantly pressure San Marino with many spikes. Saito and De Young blocked a Titan spike to put another point on the board, and after a kill from San Marino, De Young had a tip to put the score at 24-14. The last point was earned off a Titan ball hit out of bounds to put the score at 25-14.

The Titans snatched a small lead at the beginning of the third set. South Pas, however, retaliated with a six-point streak to jump in front. The two teams remained close in score until the Tigers began to pull away, fueled by San Marino errors and a kill each from Brown and junior Harper Fox. After a Saito kill, the Titans tried to climb back and came within a point from tying up the game. For the remainder of the set, the Tigers would earn one point and San Marino would counter with their own. Finally, the Titans touched the net after a Feldmeth kill to conclude the game at 25-22, the closest of the three sets.

A diving pass is made by captain Madison Hirano against rival San Marino.
A diving pass is made by captain Madison Hirano against rival San Marino.

“It was very exciting to beat San Marino considering they beat us last year,” Feldmeth said. “We had a lot of energy during the entire match, which helped us close out the game. We need to keep working on bringing down the number of unforced errors when we play because that will be a problem when we come across tougher teams.”

The Tigers next face Monrovia on the road on Tuesday, October 4, where South Pas looks to continue on its winning streak to bring its league record to 4-0 and overall record to 6-4. In the Tigers’ previous season, they defeated the Wildcats in three sets in both matchups.

Statistics

Molly Feldmeth: 12 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs

Maddie Saito: 8 kills, 8 digs

Ariana Woodworth: 4 aces, 4 digs

Maddy Hirano: 21 digs

Harper Fox: 4 kills

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