Aragon boys varsity volleyball claimed a tournament championship this past weekend, dealing with adversity throughout the day before finishing on top.
The Dons were challenged early on, dropping the first set against Serra despite leading 20-10. However, they came back to win the next set 25-15, which set the tone for how the rest of the day would go.
“We just needed to refocus and actually play how we know we can,” said junior and libero Peyton Chiang.
Resetting after tough plays became a theme throughout the tournament.
“Instead of sitting there thinking about the last few points, we just reset and focused on the next one,” said senior and setter Santiago Smirnoff.
Serve receives kept the Dons in control for much of the tournament.
“Our serve receive was really solid which let us side out pretty quickly and just kind of keep the momentum going,” said junior and outside hitter Tyler Rivera.
Though missed serves occasionally disrupted the rhythm, a quick time out was usually enough to get things back on track before the opposition could build any real momentum.
“Whenever we started missing serves we would kind of lose momentum a little bit,” Rivera said. “But then we’d get a quick side out and just get it right back.”
The bench stayed loud throughout the day, with big plays drawing loud reactions from the sideline.
“When someone makes a big play and the whole bench goes crazy,” Rivera said. “That energy is contagious. It kept everyone locked in the whole day.”
This level of focus held up from the first match all the way to the championship game at the end of the day.
“Everyone was just fully dialed in the whole day,” Smirnoff said. “We were supporting each other from the beginning.”
The finals brought a new challenge. The Dons dropped the first set and fell behind by six in the second before making adjustments to come back and win in three sets, claiming the title.
“We started adjusting more to how they were playing,” Smirnoff said. “We got more scrappy on defense and started putting more points away.”
In-game adjustments were a factor earlier in the day as well. Against Serra, the Dons picked up on one player carrying most of the offensive load and shifted their defensive strategy to take him away.
“We adjusted the block to make it harder for him,” Chiang said. “After that he was hitting negative for the rest of the game.”
Even when plays broke down offensively, the Dons continued to find ways to keep going. The defensive improvements showed up across the board. The middles hit above .500, more than half the on the day, and blocking was sharper than it had been in previous matches.
“When things weren’t perfect we were still able to put the ball away,” said junior and libero Jameson Kuo. “I think that’s something we’ve really been working on.”
A full tournament day is a grind, having to stay focused from the first match to the championship.
“The tournament was a whole day long so staying engaged the whole time was really important,” Smirnoff said. “I think that’s a big reason why we won.”
The win was encouraging, but the team wasn’t getting too far ahead of themselves.
“I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Smirnoff said. “We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to cover, but I’m just excited for what comes next.”
With the title secured, the Dons have their sights set on finishing league strong and earning a spot in CCS.
Following a loss to El Cerrito, they will move on to play San Mateo High School on Apr. 17.
