Coed volleyball cruises past Wolverines

NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM, APRIL 7 –

Coed volleyball (1-1) defeated the Watkins Mill Wolverines in straight games on Monday, 25-5, 25-17 and 25-21. Good communication and serving helped the Blazers in their victory while the Wolverines were often plagued by careless errors.

Blair started out the first game very rusty. The Wolverines built an early 5-2 lead, with the two Blazer points coming from service mistakes on Watkins Mill's part. But the rest of the game belonged to the Blazers. A fantastic spike by Ignacio Gaete sparked a 20-0 run for the Blazers. Gaete had four kills and two aces in the first game, which the Blazers took 25-5. He finished with 11 kills and three aces.

The second game was not as easy, as the Wolverines kept it close early on. With the Blazers leading the second game 12-9, sophomore Julia Skolnik made two great serves which the Wolverines could not return. The Blazers rode the momentum to a 16-9 lead, but the Wolverines responded with five unanswered points to pull within three. But the Blazers regrouped and with great serves and teamwork, won the game 25-17.

The third and final game was a hard-fought set for the Blazers. Gaete and senior co-captain Olivia Bozik led Blair to an early 9-2 lead. But the Wolverines battled back and brought the score to 12-10. Senior co-captain Julie Brice and sophomore Sibyl Brown made two great kills to pull the Blazers through and build a 21-13 lead.

Just four points away from victory, the Blazers had trouble finishing the game. The Wolverines scored the next six points. One point came from the Blazers not communicating well and letting a ball hit the floor. However, this was the only case of Blazer miscommunication on the floor. After a timeout, the Blazers regrouped and finished the game strong, winning 25-21.

The Blazers served well all night, with seven aces and many other serves the Wolverines could not handle. But head coach Greg Franklin still saw room for improvement from his team. "The competition was easier today," Franklin said. "We still need to work on our blocking and placement, but overall everyone played a good game."

Despite the good communication heard on the court, Bozik believes the team can do better. "There was definitely a lot of teamwork," she said. "But we need to work on listening to each other more."

The Blazers' next home game is against Einstein on April 10 at 7 p.m.