The Arcadia High School (AHS) Girls Varsity Volleyball team solidified their win against Pasadena High School (PHS) on Sept. 11, with a final game score of 3-0.
PHS’ bleachers were full of both home students as well as AHS’ JV and FROSH Volleyball teams. Each side showcased lively support for their teams with chants and cheers throughout the entire game.
AHS started off with an ace by senior Serena Guo, bumping their set score up to 5-3 in the first few minutes.
Freshman Malia Takeoka, senior Clara Massey, and junior Eden Coachall performed well throughout the first set, with multiple blocks and kills from all three of them. Massey hit a bounce at the 19th point. AHS slowly but surely secured their win. PHS got a kill once AHS was at 23 points, but the first set ultimately went to AHS with a score of 25-13.
The second set ran just as smoothly. There was a unique out-of-system play; a slide by players Guo and Massey, where the hitter runs sideways to spike the ball from a last-minute position. Massey also showed a lot of skill during this match. Senior Jocelyn Bostrom scored multiple aces, which bumped AHS’ score up to 16. PHS’ Madelyn Wilson aced AHS with her serves multiple times which helped her team close the gap between the scores. AHS pushed ahead, with junior Kaiya Caudle scoring the final set point of 25-14.
The pace slowed in the third set with PHS pushing back with their defense. Players Viktoria Egorova, Dani Parker, and Peipei Alexander from PHS put up exceptional blocks, preventing AHS from scoring. AHS also implemented their defense in the third set, as well as some more out-of-system plays. Senior Maegan Cericos displayed excellent defense, covering for the hitters when they got blocked, even scoring AHS a point from behind the ten foot line. The most unique play was crafted by Takeoka and Cericos, where Cericos set Takeoka and she scored a point for AHS.
“We experimented a lot, with new people in back row,” said Massey. “I was playing six rotations, which is pretty rare for a middle. The idea was that I could attack with back row swings to give our team more overall offensive power.”
Cericos praised the team members in their sportsmanship, saying, “I feel like our team dynamic was really good today because we were all very hyped and happy for each other, and we all took advantage of our opportunities to play.”
AHS and PHS hit a score of 17-12. AHS started to lag, which allowed PHS to step up their defense even further. PHS’ Geraldine Legaspi committed deeply to the match and demonstrated skill through her defensive plays. The rallies became longer and more intense. Eventually, AHS climbed their way back up to the top to sit at a score of 23-17. Game point was scored by Senior Eesha Yasa after a failed serve, earning AHS a win of 3-0.
The team’s match against PHS pushed the players to continue working hard. Bringing home a triple victory of 25-13, 25-14, and 25-18, the girls continue their winning streak.
“It was a good day. A good game,” said Takeoka after their win.
