On Oct. 25, the Dons (21-9 overall, 12-2 Peninsula Athletic League), who celebrated their graduating players at Senior Night and their first place finish in the Bay League, faced the Scots (12-15 overall, 4-10 PAL) at home.
Seniors Jessica Castroviejo, Isabella Bartlewski, Jordan Lee, Grace Nai, Ariana Gacutan, Luciana Lewis, Teagan Robertson and Mercedes Alusa were escorted onto the court by their family and friends and honored with flowers while members of the Aragon cheer squad cheered them on.
The team’s six starters, senior Jordan Lee, senior co-captains Jessica Castroviejo and Isabella Bartlewski, juniors Kathleen Suayan and Hunter Kwan along with sophomore Sophie Rubinstein, scored first to get the game started.
The score stayed close at the beginning of the first set, until kills from Castroviejo, Rubinstein and senior Grace Nai helped the Dons gain a lead. Blocks from Lee and Castroviejo carried the team to a 25-16 win in the first set.
“In between sets, I told the girls to talk with one another and have high energy since it’s such a fast moving sport,” said head coach Annette Gennaro.
“In between sets, I told the girls to talk with one another and have high energy since it’s such a fast moving sport”
The Dons held an early lead in the second set, until Carlmont tied it up at 18-18. After lots of back and forth scoring, Carlmont eventually won the second set 27-25.
“Our energy definitely fluctuated in the second set,” Castroviejo said.
That was not the case for long, as Aragon came out strong in the third set. Carlmont put up a strong fight, but they were no match for the Dons, who took the lead late in the set and never looked back. Plays from Nai, Rubinstein and back-to-back aces from Suayan brought the Dons to their second win of the game with a score of 25-18.
After the exciting third set, Aragon fans kept the energy up in the gym with their cheering, chants and Senior Night posters.
The fourth set was much like the third with the Dons bringing high energy and communication onto the court. Although the Scots held a small lead in the beginning, it didn’t last for long. Aragon scored five consecutive points and held a two-point lead for the majority of the set before stopping Carlmont at 18 points and winning the fourth set 25-18.
“We’re very excited,” Gennaro said. “We haven’t won [PAL] in 21 years so it’s definitely very special.”
Now, the Dons want to win the Division II Central Coast Championships, which they have last won in 2019.
“It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling with it being our last regular season game … but we still have CCS so the season doesn’t end here. We know we still have work to do,” Nai said.
“They’ve really stepped up and made my job of coaching much easier this year than any other year”
After an early season two-game losing streak, the team, which stood second overall in PAL before the game against Carlmont, got back on track after winning their last nine games.
“At the beginning of the season we lost back-to-back to Menlo-Atherton and Burlingame, so to get us back on track to winning … was the hardest challenge we’ve had,” Gennaro said.
Although their season started out rough, Gennaro is content with the season so far.
“I’m definitely happy with my volleyball team,” Gennaro said. “They’re working really hard. They’ve really stepped up and made my job of coaching much easier this year than any other year.”
The Dons will have their first CCS home game on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
