Arcata volleyball won their matches against Del Norte on the night of September 23rd. Each team, the freshmen/sophomore (frosh/soph), the Junior Varsity (JV), and varsity fought their way to victory, demonstrating determination and resilience.
Arcata’s varsity held fast in the face of Del Norte’s impressive defense. Arcata lost the first set 21-25, won the second 25-21, and lost the third set 16-25. Set four was tense, with another score of 21-25, Arcata.
“Anything that came over the net, we pretty much got up in one way or another. “We never let a ball hit the ground without ourselves hitting the ground, too,” senior Aliyah Aaron said. “Our offense kept swinging and swinging and swinging, no matter how down we were.”
The fifth set began with Arcata’s unmatched energy.
“From the get-go… it was just such an amazing environment to play in,” junior Kyla Kinyon said. Kinyon had 10 kills and three blocks. “And that has to do with the audience hyping us up and our coach getting us ready.”
Each player was ready to scream and work their hardest.
“I had so much fun. Between sets, I was like, ‘get me out there. I want to play,’” junior Eliana Kanzler said. “Our teamwork was so good, and we kept the energy up, and it was great.”
The 10 or so remaining students in the student section led cheers while teachers, parents, and relatives stomped their feet and created a deafening thunder. Boys volleyball members kept score at the table. Others sat behind the lineup of girls on the bench. The passion and spirit that filled the gym carried the team to victory.
“At the end of the day, I think it was the mental thing,” senior and boy’s volleyball member Gianni Orlandi said. “Nobody gave up. Everyone was still sticking together, and everyone was pretty high and loud. I’m happy to have been on the sideline, being able to cheer for it.”
Arcata won with a final match score of 15-10. For some students there, it was a fifteen-hour school day. At 9:30 p.m., after a healthy amount of cheering, the event was officially over and the crowd cleared the gymnasium.
“We just came out of the gate ready to play and played hard and together,” Head Coach Laurie Griffith said. “I haven’t seen them play this well this year. Everyone’s really aggressive and, you know, it was super exciting to win.”
Arcata JV won their game in two sets. At the end of the first, the score read 25-16. The second set was a closer match at 25-20. Arcata prevailed.
“I thought all three teams played very well. We were very scrappy. There was definitely a high level of play today, so I’m very proud of my girls,” JV Head Coach Lola Renteria said.
Frosh/soph were the earliest to play, starting at four. Their sets were neck and neck, point by point, one point after the next. Freshman setter, Willow Avelar, was aggressive at the net and made many on-two (setter dump) attacks that were effective.
The team scored 25-22 the first set and 25-18 the second set, winning the match.
“Del Norte’s defense was stellar and we had to find ways to score,” Griffith said. “It felt good to get a win and know how good a team we can be.”
