On Nov. 7, Aragon varsity girls volleyball defeated Burlingame in CCS finals to win the CCS champion title. They played the first California Interscholastic Federation State Championship game on Nov. 10 against Placer High School, after the Outlook went to print.
Earlier in the season, the girls volleyball team wasted no time against Carlmont on Oct. 22, delivering a victory after three straight sets for the team’s senior night.
Senior outside hitter Catey Robertson had a total of 22 kills, with junior right side hitter Poppy McKenzie following with 17 kills and senior setter Devyn Lee had 31 assists throughout the game. When asked before the game about
Aragon’s performance, head coach Annette Gennaro pointed to consistency.
“Volleyball is a game of mistakes, Gennaro said. “So [they] just need to play [their] game.”
Their consistency showed up in their past game records with similar kill ratios and assists as well as overall digs and aces, which lined up with their performance against Carlmont.
The team has had a strong hold on their league, according to MaxPreps, with a record of 9-2.
Their performance is led by many different players such as Robertson with 289 kills this season and McKenzie with 269, while Lee leads the team with 565 assists and junior outside hitter Emilia Kunkel leads the team with 321 digs.
The game started off strong, with Aragon scoring the first point of the first set. Each point got them closer to taking the first set. The crowd was filled with cheers and row after row containing posters saying, “we heart #20” and “we love our seniors.”
Aragon kept getting kill after kill, with Robertson, McKenzie and sophomore middle hitter Tate Nisa being the main hitters of the set. Lee had assists that kept Aragon competing until they took the first set, 25-21.
Going into the second set, the energy was high from both the audience and the players.
Aragon continued to conquer Carlmont each set through more blocks and digs, with senior libero Claire Richards and Kunkel helping their team with each dig they got. Once more, Lee and Kunkel both led the team in service aces, allowing them to take the second set, 25-18.
Entering the final set of the match, Aragon was in control. McKenzie, Nisa and Robertson kept getting kill after kill, creating a bigger gap between Aragon and Carlmont. Richards had two crucial saves that allowed Aragon to stay ahead. By the end Aragon had a 15 point lead, and their final point was earned by Robertson with a kill, ending the third set, 25-10, and the match 3-0.
At the end of the match, the audience exploded in cheers and after a quick group photo, the team jumped into the pool to celebrate their streak of wins.
With a strong conclusion to the team’s senior night and one of the last games of their season, the Dons were ranked first in their league and fourth in division two Central Coast Section. Even with an overall record of 23-9 and a league record of 12-2, they still met challenges.
“You’re always going to face tough times, but if you learn to find the good that’s out there, your outlook is better,” Gennaro said.
