By Sabrina Sun | Staff Writer
Irvington Varsity Girl’s Volleyball team earned a win at their home game against Moreau. On Tuesday, September 29, the two teams faced off in a rapid game.
At the beginning of the first set, the two teams efficiently blocked and attacked each other. They exchanged long rallies but neither gained an advantage. Sophomore Melissa Talbot performed several close saves, allowing senior Gabriela Charbeneau to perform an excellent kill. Their seamless teamwork ended the set with a score of 25-19.
Moreau seemingly dominated the second set with a score of 0-8 and executed several spikes. At the same time, Irvington players repeatedly fouled by failing to return the ball or by spiking out of bounds. However, Moreau began fouling as well and senior Savannah Fox performed a clean spike, earning Irvington’s first point. Irvington then pushed forward, bringing the score to 10-16. The set ended, 16-25, earning Moreau the lead.
“If we could improve on one thing, it would be to not ease up in the earlier sets, and lose our lead,” Fox says. “After we won the first set, we eased up thinking they would go down easy, but that was a mistake.”
During the second set, Irvington led the game.The scores evened out once Irvington began fouling, with both teams occasionally hitting the ceiling. Senior Sofia Aguirre scored Irvington another point by feinting before performing a swift kill. The end score of the set is 25-19, with Irvington in the lead.
In the third set, the two teams’ scores increased at an equal rate. However, sophomore Ashley Furuya performed a serve, that cleared the court diagonally, and brought the score to 7-8. Due to some penalties, Irvington and Moreau were required to switch out some team members. The set ended with a score of 21-25, tying the teams at two wins apiece.
The fifth and final game began with both teams exerting all their effort, each alternatively scoring points, balancing the score. However, as the game progressed, Moreau began fouling into the net while Irvington returned their spikes. The final set allowed Irvington to clinch the win. “Teamwork, communication and energy are the reasons we won this game,” Charbeneau said. “The last five points were definitely the most crucial.”
