Northwood grinds girls' volleyball

NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM, Oct. 11—

This story was based on post-game interviews only and not on a first-hand account.

For the first time in history, the Northwood girls' varsity volleyball team (3-7) defeated the Lady Blazers (3-6) in the Battle of the Boulevard. The close match on Tuesday resulted in a four set win for the Gladiators, with final scores of 24-26, 23-25, 25-12 and 15-25.

Plagued by a lack of focus, Blair fell behind early in the first set, but quickly rebounded. The Blazers took a 24-23, but the Gladiators rallied and won the set with three consecutive points.

The second set was not much different from the first with the teams neck and neck, vying for the lead. Things looked bleak for the Blazers when they trailed by eight points midway through the set. Blair turned the tables on Northwood and scored ten consecutive points, taking the lead at 21-19. Northwood quickly retaliated and finished off the second set, winning by a slim two point margin.

In a twist of events, the third set had a completely different outcome. The Blazers came out with a vengeance and annihilated the Gladiators, 25-12. According to junior Lizzy Liu, the team started the set with renewed vigor and worked cohesively to win the set. "We had a lot more energy, which allowed us to pull ahead and win [it] quickly," she said. Freshman Jade Liu agreed. "[The set] gave us more hope that we could win if we played better and kept on going," she said. However, the Blazers fell behind in the fourth set and couldn't catch up again.

Blair attributed the loss to a lack of energy and concentration in the first two sets. "We weren't really focused in the beginning," L. Liu explained. "And by the time we started to play our game, it was too late."

According to head coach Christopher Klein, losing the first two sets by only two points was frustrating and difficult. "Being down two games is very hard to come back from," he said.

Klein recognized that his team has room for improvement. "We need to improve consistency of play," he said. "We sometimes have plays where we are incredibly good, followed by very silly and deflating mistakes."

L. Liu added that the team needs to stay focused and fight throughout an entire game. "We really need to pull together as a team," she said. "Never, ever, give up, no matter how many points we're down."

The girls' varsity volleyball team will play its next home game Thursday, Oct. 20, against Kennedy at 6:00 p.m.