Blair serves up a victory

OCT 23, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

Tonight Blair volleyball honored graduating seniors Amanda Hsiung, Lauren Wong, Simone Viger, Carey Bartlett, Emily Ramsay, and Rebecca Cho with gifts, balloons, and a brief speech from coach Anne Garrison. The real honor, however, came in Blair's victory over the Kennedy Cavaliers in only three sets (25-23, 25-10, and 27-25). All six seniors were starters in tonight's match.

Blair, despite showing a lack of focus at some points during the match, dominated over Kennedy from the beginning. The Blazers played a sloppy first game before coming back and winning the second with a margin of 15 points. In the third game Blair nearly allowed Kennedy to make a come-from behind victory before the Blazers extended the game to 27 points and finally took the match.

In the first game Hsiung started off by serving a six-point rally which included three aces. After Hsiung's initial points, however, Blair had trouble putting together significant rallies, keeping the game very close until Blair finally won off an error from Kennedy. The second game began much the same, Hsiung serving her way to a 5-0 lead. This time, however, Blair did not allow Kennedy to catch up; they won the game 25-10 after Ramsay served up an impressive ace.

In the third game, Kennedy immediately pulled ahead 1-4, but Blair managed to catch up just as quickly. With the score tied at 4-4, Cho picked up a serve from Kennedy and set up for Hsiung, who tapped the ball just over the net so that Kennedy was unable to return it. The game continued to be very close up until the end, when Cho slammed the ball passed the Caveliers and scored Blair's game-winning point.

This was Blair's final game at home, and their fourth win in a row. The team, which struggled in the beginning of the season, managed to come together and combine strong offense, defense, and a vastly improved service game to defeat tough opponents and bring their record to 7-6.