Blair boys’ volleyball conquers win over the Magruder Colonels on senior night

Going up for a spike

Photo: The Blazers mount an offensive vs. Magruder.

The Blazers mount an offensive vs. Magruder. Photo courtesy of Katie Phung.

On Wednesday, May 3, the Blair Blazers (11-0) beat the Magruder Colonels (3-8) in an intense 3-1 game for Blair’s senior night, officially making them the only undefeated Blair spring sports team this school year. Prior to the game, both co-ed and boys volleyball celebrated their seniors and showered them with recognition and appreciation for their dedication to the program. 

The set officially started with a shutdown tip from senior middle blocker Bereket Asmerom shortly after the Colonels had served to Blair’s side. Service and setting errors were prevalent between both sides. 

However, senior outside hitter Shahid Mahrami made several successful kills and ace serves, making up for Blair’s technical errors.

With senior opposite hitter Newton Leas taking advantage of Magruder’s weaker blocks, he was able to get touch-outs which gave Blazers an upperhand of 17-14. 

Shortly after, two aces from Mahrami put the Colonels into a panic as they called a timeout at 19-14 in an attempt to slow down Blair’s rapid momentum. 

However this proved to be no challenge to the Blazers, as Mahrami continued with his ace serves and Leas’s tactical swings against the Colonels’ defense. After a service error from Magruder, the Blazers had taken the first set 25-18.

The start of the second set was a clapback by Magruder as they responded with the Blazers' serve with an immediate tip to stall Blair’s defense. 

Senior middle blocker Silas White made sure to spark back up Blair’s offense with multiple blocks and surprise middle hits. Continuous technician errors by the Colonels allowed Leas to continue making kills between each seam. 

Another timeout at 16-11 from the Magruder stalled the Blazers from continuing their stride. However, a smart tip from Asmerom won the Blazers the second set 25-19. 

The third set seemed to be a difficult stretch for the Blazers as they struggled to recover from regular technical errors, giving Magruder a 2-6 lead at the start. 

Celebrating

Photo: The Blair boys volleyball team celebrates in their win over Magruder.

The Blair boys volleyball team celebrates in their win over Magruder. Photo courtesy of Katie Phung.

After more kills from Mahrami, the Blazers eventually caught up with the Colonels at 9-9. However, remaining in sync with their teammates offensively and defensively proved to be the Blazers' biggest areas of weakness as they scrambled to keep up with the lead. Magruder won the third set 22-25.

Fortunately, Blair had a strong comeback for the fourth set, immediately sending a strong message with a kill from junior captain outside hitter Luke Mei. Mei continued to excel with three ace serves which put the Blazers at 9-4 against the Colonels. 

Blair locked in and continued to sweep past Magruder with multiple kills and blocks from freshmen outside hitter Jason Liang and Leas which gave an impressive 15-5 advantage for the Blazers.  

Junior middle blocker Evan Wang continued this strong advantage against Magruder with several blocks and a powerful overpass kill straight to the Colonels’ backrow. Magruder attempted to slow Blair’s powerful march to victory with a timeout at 21-7.  

Liang finished out the game with off-tempo kills and two aces, crowning the Blazers victorious after a hard fought fourth set at 25-7.

After the game, Leas felt emotional and extremely content with Blair’s performance. “The game was amazing…The stakes were high but we just have to keep working together, every mistake [we made] just made us stronger…It’s been a fun journey.”