Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Girls Varsity Volleyball team played their last home game of the season on Oct. 14 against the Crescenta Valley (CV) Falcons. While the Apaches lost 1-3, the girls celebrated their departing seniors with speeches, gifts, and decorations. Before the match, each senior player walked out from an inflatable tunnel with their family, and Coach Jose Gonzalez introduced each of the girls individually. Crescenta Valley’s players were also recognized, receiving a rose each and shaking hands with AHS’ Coach Carlos Medina.
The Apaches kicked off the first set with a faulty serve, allowing CV to gain an upper hand. Senior Nina Tang got a kill followed by a block, scoring AHS both of their two points so far. CV’s Evie Lutz retaliated, smashing the ball down, scoring a beautiful shot. Junior Angelina Zhou scored Arcadia another point using a dump set, then used a left handed slam to tie the score at 5-5. Senior Clara Massey also scored, putting Arcadia in the lead. CV’s Lutz sent the ball deep and tied up the score once more.
At 7-11, AHS called their first time out. After a few shanks from Arcadia, senior Dolliah Bedjakian scored a kill with a deep swing.
CV pulled ahead with a score of 8-13. Soon after, senior Jocelyn Bostrom set Bedjakian in an out-of-system play, earning the Apaches another point. However, a miscommunication on Arcadia’s end gave the ball back to CV. CV continued to score despite Arcadia’s efforts. The Apaches called another timeout at 10-17 to regroup. Arcadia gained an easy point when a serve from Lutz went into the net, but CV maintained an eight- point lead. Arcadia’s “atomic weapon” Massey got a kill on CV as they inched closer to the set point. Small mistakes on the Falcons’ end created openings for the Apaches as they fought for the win. Senior Maegan Cericos seamlessly dug a serve from CV. Despite their efforts, the Falcons scored their set point with a score of 19-25.
CV began the second set with a leg up. Riding the high of their victory during the last set, they gained a three-point lead. Bostrom upped her defense, tying the score at 3-3. Although scores were tied for the majority of the beginning of the second set, the Apaches came through to gain a five-point lead. Tang’s precise serves caused mistakes on CV’s end,pushing Arcadia ahead. Massey earned another point for the team with a slide, running to hit the ball from the right side.
At 13-9, AHS called a timeout. The girls regrouped, continuing to chase the win and widening the gap between their scores. CV fought their way back up with Ady Lopez’s powerful kills. Sophomore Allison Chen and freshman Malia Takeoka worked together to gain possession of the ball once again. Both teams had strong chemistry and teamwork throughout the entire game which made the rallies even more intense.
CV hit the ball into the net which got AHS to the 20 point mark. Takeoka and Eden Coach put up two beautiful consecutive blocks, earning Arcadia another point. Coach scored the Apaches their set point with a win of 25-20. The teams were tied with one set each.
Freshman Natalia Flores started off the third set with the serve and a kill. Coach got CV to shank the ball into the stands, giving AHS a lead of 2-0. A miscommunication on the Apaches’ side allowed CV to tie the score at 2-2. As the set progressed, Massey earned another kill on CV, but the Falcons were able to get a leg up nonetheless. The hustle from CV was strong and it was hard to gain a lead. The score was tied once again at 7-7. The following rally lasted over a minute with a strong hustle from both teams. The point ended up going to CV due to a mix-up from AHS.
Bostrom was on fire, picking up every ball that could have been a point for the Falcons.
“I was kinda disappointed on how I played, but overall I think we did really well so I’m happy for us,” She said after the match.
CV’s Lopez aimed for the line, but the ball went out, tying the two teams at 14-14. Lopez was on a kill streak with her strong swings and precise hits.
Lopez’s serve went into the net, giving the Apaches their 20th point. As the Apaches grew closer to the 25 point mark, CV called their first time out. A tip by CV’s Bashar tied the scores at 23-23. The girls are forced into overtime. Tang’s attempted kill went out the back corner, giving the Falcons a win of 27-25. CV was in the lead by a set score of 2-1.
Lutz blocked a kill from Arcadia, and CV ended up gaining a quick lead of 0-2. Arcadia seemed to be folding under pressure with a couple technical errors. Charlee Ziegenfuss, CV’s libero, also performed well throughout the set and displayed her intense hustle.
Flores chased after a shanked ball and passed it over in hopes it would land in bounds, and it did. The save signaled hope for the Apaches, but CV was still up by 6 points.
At 12-18, the score seemed decisive. AHS called another timeout–after a show of great effort and perseverance, they managed to tie the score at 23-23, before the set finally ended with CV as the final victor.
“I was really excited because we were playing really well and although we lost, we fought really hard for the last few points,” sophomore Allison Lai said.
The Varsity team stayed back with family and friends to hear farewell speeches from the team. Each senior received gifts from loving supporters and the team shared heartfelt moments at the end of the day. Despite the loss, the Apaches ended the night on a high note together.
