As sophomore Sarah Charapp dumps the ball over the net, tricking the Washington International School (WIS) Red Devils and moving the Lions into the lead with a 15-14 score in the fourth set, the crowd erupts into cheers. Despite the energy, the Lions fell to the Red Devils in the PVAC volleyball championship on Monday, Nov. 3. After losing the first two sets, the Lions came back to win the next two, but lost the final set 15-12.
The first set was tight with the Red Devils winning 26-24. While the Lions’ offense worked in overdrive, striking the Red Devils with sneaky corner hits, the defense couldn’t keep up with their returns.
The second set had a better start than the first with an exciting rally filled with close saves by JDS, but the lack of coverage from the Lions defense widened the score. WIS outside hitter Lena Metzner’s kills were harder than the Lions could handle.
However, Charapp’s offensive hits and tips gave the Red Devils a hard time as well, acing them off serves and sending fast hits to hard-to-reach areas of the court.
“I think in the first two sets we were playing a little scared and we just weren’t pushing on the gas,” Charapp said. “But in the third, fourth and fifth set[s] we brought it together and we played true Lions volleyball with energy and fun.”
Freshman Evy Grunburger came in the third set to play as libero, and contributed to the Lions’ win in that set through her quick reflexes. Junior Jordana Dauber and senior and captain Leah Fagin also had multiple defensive blocks.
With the score 19-16 in the third set and tensions in the gym running high, Charapp aced her serve, boosting team morale. The Lions eventually won the set, making the overall score 25-17.
The fourth set brought a new sense of energy onto the court according to head coach Juan Alvicar. Senior Rachel Fagin sent multiple tips over the net that confused the Red Devils and scored the Lions points, winning them that set as well and forcing a fifth set to break the 2-2 tie
“When we were in our best rotation, we attacked the ball very well and we took advantage of it,” Alvicar said. “We were the best conditioned team.”
The final set started off with narrow saves by senior and captain Ruby Kotok and Grunberger, and a tying block off the net by Dauber. Although the Lions were able to tie the score, they weren’t able to overcome the Red Devils, ultimately losing 15-12.
Kotok attributes the team’s loss to their low energy levels during the first and second sets. Kotok said not only did they have a slow start in the first two sets, but they only had six practices all season, so the team had to use games as a time to test things out.
“[WIS has] beaten us twice,” Kotok said. “It’s really hard to beat a team three times, so I think that we really just had an opportunity that we didn’t fully take advantage of.”
Although the season is over, the Lions came in second in their conference, and players are already looking ahead to next season.
“I’m looking forward to just building stronger connections with the girls and having a good, strong team back together, and hopefully going back to the championship again,” Charapp said.
