Women’s varsity volleyball pulls out tough win over Franklin

IMG_9071aBy Yrenly Yuan & Emma Juchau,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

The women’s varsity volleyball team blocked, dug and spiked their way to a 3-1 victory over Franklin on Thursday Oct. 23’s home game.

The Devils kept a steady lead throughout the first set, winning easily with a final dig by sophomore Karlie Kijanka to end the score at 25-13.

However, the Wildcats were warmed up by the second set, and it became a point-for-point battle. But serving runs by senior Kimmy Siu and sophomore Samantha Moore helped the team to secure a victory of 25-18 over Franklin.

Head coach Julie Crawford said because the other team started to play better after the first game, her team had to “adjust to the adjustments the other team was making, like changing our offensive strategy in response to their strong block.”

Winning the first two sets, the Blue Devils became overconfident during the third set, according to Kijanka, outside hitter and middle blocker for the team.  Adjustments by the Wildcats also proved to be successful for them in the third game, as they fought the Blue Devils for every point. The game ended with Franklin winning 26-24, bringing the game into a fourth set.

Along with Franklin’s win in the third set came an injury as middle blocker Carolyn Brady was elbowed in the face her sister, Evenlyn Brady.

Brady returned to the court only moments later to a cheering crowd. She made a comeback of her own in the fourth set, when she contributed one tip, one kill and one block to her team’s win.

Senior Makenna Sherwood said, “our serve-receive passing wasn’t what is usually is and that hurt us a few times. But, we did play really good defense which helped us get the win!”

Crawford added, “they came out on top the third game which is something we were trying not to do, we were trying to win in three.”

But Davis was back on its feet by the fourth set, taking the victory at 25-20 from Franklin.

Siu said that she feels their overall “offense and defense were on point. We played really well as a team. We definitely could [have] played better but it’s awesome that we pulled out another win!”

“The girls didn’t play their best, but were able to pull through, which shows their heart and drive,” said Jordan Friend, assistant coach of the team. “[They] played really good defense to keep us in the game.”

“I feel like we came out strong as a team,” Kijanka said. “I thought that blocking was a big component in the game… [We] pulled through the third game.”

For the rest of the season, Crawford says that “we’re really going to work on finishing those last five-ten points really strong, to slam the door and just close each game rather than go back and forth with the other team.

 

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