A stomach full of butterflies and head full of anticipation.
All of these symptoms that the team had were cured by the time the No.
8 seated Granite Hills High School Lady Grizzlies took on the No. 9 seated Hoover High School Lady Patriots on Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the Granite Hills gymnasium.
The Lady Patriots proved to be the team that deserved to advance to the Division III quarterfinal as they beat the Lady Grizzlies, 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-22).
High spirits and a quick defense was the key to winning to the first game for the Lady Grizzlies. Senior Jennifer Landers also pitched in on the defensive side as she was forced to cover the tips and dinks that the opponents were sending over.
Zoe Kisling with a great play.
Photo by Marissa Martinez
Landers had 13 assists to end her volleyball season in high school.
Senior Deanna Alamillo had 12 digs to end her the night, while senior Zoe Kisling had six.
Senior team captain (one of three) Vanessa Alcantar registered seven digs.
But, Alcantar is did not only help out Granite’s defense – she also played a crucial part in the offense. Alcantar slammed in five well earned kills by the end of the night.
“Playing back row was really hard tonight,” Alcantar said. “A lot of their girls were hitting the ball so it was hard to make good passes.”
After the first match the Lady Grizzlies had what coach Richard Lambie calls “beat dog syndrome,” which is just his way of saying the girls gave up. The second and the third match were dominated by the Lady Patriots as Granite clearly had a case of beat dog syndrome.
Hoover’s Meranda Watkins had an overall high of 15 kills while Destiney Real worked her way to 14 kills.
Granite’s very own six foot junior Emily Fechner was came close to having that many kills – Fechner put in 13 kills.
However, the realization that this could be the last time on the court for the eight seniors kicked it during the middle of the fourth match.
The Lady Grizzlies made their début as they came back after a 12-2 run. The score became increasing closer and closer.
Clearly, the Lady Grizzlies were not going to leave the court hanging their hands. With the Lady Patriots on a roll in making errors all the home team had to do was prepare to play defense.
Senior Jennifer Landers.
Photo by Marissa Martinez
As the game continued Kisling was then forced to serve. She aced one of her serves, which made the score 23-21. However, despite the last fight that the Lady Grizzlies gave it proved to not be enough to win the match.
“It was difficult getting up for blocks, but I know we all really tried to slow down their hits,” Ashlyn Lopez said. “If everyone would have played on top of their match like the first one I believe we could have won, with the same heart and intensity the night could have turned out different.”
For senior Lopez it was truly emotional rollercoaster when the night came to halt.
“I’m going to miss the family bond that we shared; almost all of us have played together for four years. You really do not find a team bond like the one we have.”
