On Thursday, Nov. 9, the Archie Williams girls varsity volleyball hosted the West Valley Eagles in the second round of the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) playoffs. The Falcons looked to keep their season alive following their close win in the first round of the CIF playoffs against the Ripon Indians.
The Falcons started off hot in the first set holding a 13-4 lead. The set was far from over as the Eagles battled their way back into the set and cut the margin to 24-23. An intense start to the game ended with the Falcons taking the set home 25-23 on a kill from senior Reese Fraser.
The second set was a battle between both teams. Neither team fell to more than three points throughout the whole set. The Falcons found themselves up 23-21 late in the set. From there they weren’t able to put together any winning points and lost the set 23-25.
“Our energy we came out with was strong but our weakness was maintaining that energy throughout the whole game,” Reese said. “We had pretty high highs and pretty low lows.”
Both teams came out strong in the third set. The Falcons and Eagles split the first 20 points 10-10, and the score remained close throughout the set. Neither team could form a lead of more than five points for the remainder of the set. The Falcons found a last-minute effort to pull ahead and win the set 25-19.
With the Falcons being only a set away from victory, the Eagles knew they had to step up their game. The Eagles came out strong and played well throughout the whole set. They ended up winning the set 10-25.
It all came down to the fifth and final set. Tensions were high, with all the parents now on their feet, cheering on their team. The set started off close, with the Falcons struggling to serve. Emotions were at an all-time high, as the Falcons fought to keep their season alive. They went on a run to make the score 14-8. In the end, the Falcons won the final set 15-10.
“We didn’t back down even though we were down a lot in the fourth set. We all stayed together as a team because we did not want this to be our last game so we worked super hard and we came back the next set and won,” said senior Lindsey Jones.
The Falcons play their next match against the Mercy Bears. They play on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. The Falcons are playing on the road for the first time in their playoff stint.
“With grit, determination, and belief we knew we could pull it out. We went to five sets and we’re in the huddle and I said, we’re state champions, we can do this. I think everyone dug pretty deep and we pulled it out once again,” said Head Coach Lisa Hudson.
