Written by Anish Malla and Jung Haye To
The boys volleyball team (6-2) defeated Hillsdale (0-2) in a three-set victory on March 9. The victory was aided by senior middle blocker Miguel Hugo’s 13-point serving streak in the first set, which led to a 19-point win in the set with a score of 25-6.
“I practiced a lot of my serves which made me consistent and made me score 13 [points] with [two] aces,” Hugo said.
Despite the overwhelming first set lead, the Dons fell back in the second set, where three missed serves led to Hillsdale leading Aragon 9-3 by the first time out.
“On the second set we let our attention slip,” said senior outside hitter Tim McSheery. “We made some errors on our side which affected our mentality and it was a downwards spiral from there.”
“After the first set of 25-6, I think they were a little too relaxed going into the second set,” said head coach Diene Hala’ufia.
However, after a timeout called by Aragon at 19-19, the Dons were able to make a comeback and barely win the second set 25-23.
“[There was a] mentality shift [after the timeout] and realizing that this game and set was important,” McSheery said. “Compared to the first set when Hillsdale didn’t put much of a fight up it felt like more of a challenge.”
Coming out of the intense second set, the Dons went on to win the third set with consistent serves and powerful hitting by McSheery and senior middle blocker and opposite hitter Theo Hargis. The Dons won the set with a final score of 25-12.
Up next, the Dons will take on Menlo-Atherton (9-0) on March 14.
