Quince Orchard downs JV girls' volleyball

By Sahar Shahamatdar, Page Editor

NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM, Sept. 19 –

The JV girls' volleyball team fell to the Quince Orchard Cougars in two sets Wednesday night, bringing their season record to 0-4. The Blazers could not keep pace with their experienced opponents, losing 25-19 in the first set and 25-16 in the second.

Freshman Seema Habash opened the game with powerful serves leading Blair to a 5-0 run, but the Cougars' coach quickly called a timeout to disrupt the flow of the Blazers. Upon returning to the court, the girls quickly lost their composure, committing technical fouls that allowed Quince Orchard to catch up.

Although Blair led for 17 straight points, the Cougars finally tied the game at 9-9 with strong serves and powerful returns. Sophomore co-captain Cindy Siu put Blazers back on top with two formidable serves, including an ace, but Blair's lead quickly diminished, as they were unable to return many serves and consistently hit balls into the net.

Because of great communication, the Cougars pulled away rapidly, and Blazers never had the chance to recover. The team lost its focus, and let many easy balls slip through their fingers. Despite diving efforts, the set ended with an unforced service error, giving the visitors a 25-19 win.

The second set started with a reverse of the first. Quince Orchard had a 4-0 run as Blazers failed to return any of the serves. But sophomore Sophia Deng had a few tricks of her own, taking advantage of holes in the Cougar coverage, bringing the Blazer back into the game, 5-6. But once again, the inexperienced team was not able to return the serves and soon lost command of the game.

Although both teams had many double hits and holding fouls, Quince Orchard controlled the ball better and finished each play with a strong hit. The Cougars started a 7-0 run and even doubled the score of Blazers before Coach Greg Franklin called a timeout. Despite Franklin's encouraging words, Blair did not recover from a double-digit deficit late in the game. The second set ended like the first, as another service error finished the game.

Service was a major sticking point for the girls on Wednesday. Too many points were lost to unforced service errors and unsuccessful returns. However, Blazers have definitely improved their communication and have helped each other during the game by calling the plays.

Despite the loss, everyone on the team was satisfied with their performance. The girls scored their most points of the season against the Cougars, one of the best programs in the county. "If we played like this against all the other teams, then we will definitely win," said Deng.

Franklin agreed, calling this "by far the best game." He admitted that although Quince Orchard had a couple of good hitters and servers, he is still proud of the team and believes that they are on the road to improvement.

The girls' will play their next game at Kennedy on Sept. 24 at 5:30.