Blazers Singe Cavaliers

September 19, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

The Blair girls' volleyball team dominated Kennedy High School today with scores of 15-5 and 15-4 in the two games played. Coach Jamie Franck was encouraged by the team's performance, especially considering the absence of one of the team's two setters, junior Jeanne Yang.

Kennedy won the coin toss for first serve and scored one quick point before Blair went on a 9-0 run. Sophomore Emily Ramsay did well in her first game back, spiking the ball for points several times. This was Ramsay's first game back after an ankle injury. 'Emily played well, she didn't miss a beat,' said Franck.

Franck was also pleased with the way Blair served the ball today, noting that junior captain Amanda Hsiung had four aces and senior Christi Chew had two. 'We got about 80 percent of our serves intoday which is good but not great,' said Franck.

Blair won the first game, and did even better in the second, at one point scoring on seven consecutive serves. Two of the four points awarded to Kennedy were for illegal positioning by Blair. The Blazers have adopted a 6-2 positioning strategy in general for the season, where there are two setters on the court at all times and they are opposite each other in the rotation of six. Hsiung said she set nearly all the balls in the first game because of Yang's absence, but that it did not bother her since she had also been the only setter on her team in the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament this summer.

Kennedy's coach, Wanda Hsiung, is Amanda Hsiung's mother. Coach Hsiung felt that coaching against her daughter created an interesting situation. She was hopeful that she might see her daughter play well, but also hoped her team would play competitively.

Franck has high hopes for the team in their next few games, at Rockville on Thursday and at Magruder on Friday. The Rockville game is a makeup from September 11. Franck said that each team faced by Blair up to Magruder isa step above the last. 'Magruder is usually one of the powerhouses in the county so that'll be the real test,' he said.