Blazers defeat Poolesville in four sets

Though the score was tight many times during the game and the Blazers (9 - 3) lost the second set, they pushed through and won the final two sets after scoring several last minute points. Blair won the first set 25-16, the second 25-23, and the fourth 26-24. Poolesville won the third set 25-23.

The Poolesville Falcons started out strong, scoring the first point. Blair's competitive spirit kicked in and they scored four points in quick succession, bringing the score to 4-1. The Blazers and Falcons exchanged points, coming to a score of 10-6 Blazers. The Blazers' strong players, including senior Rourke Smith, repeatedly spiked the ball down for Blair. The Falcons were unable to retaliate and dropped the set, ending at 25-16.

The second set began with an increasingly competitive spirit. The Falcons were much more aggressive towards the Blazers than the first set. Though the Blazers remained in the lead, their defense and offense worked overtime to keep the set close. Several fumbles by the Blazers allowed the Falcons to get back into the game, only leading by one.

Senior captain Lawrence Zhao served the Blazers to a big run, scoring points quickly and leading them on a 9-2 run, bring the score to 19-11. At the end of the second set, the confident Blazers were tired out and the Falcons began to score with renewed energy. Poolesville scored six points in succession, beating out the Blazers with the close score of 25-23.

In the third set, the Falcons came out with energy that quickly the Blazers quickly quenched by scoring five straight points, leaving the score at 7-1 in their favor. After a failed serve, their momentum broke and the Falcons and Blazers began alternating points, until the score settled at 13-9 Blazers. The Blazers' strong performance continued, with great play by seniors Neal Sarkar, Elia Martin and captain Jesse Matthews. The Blazers took advantage of the Poolesville miscues to take the third set with a convincing score of 25-14.

The fourth set was dominated by Poolesville as they scored 11 points while Blair scored merely four. Smith brought out his spike again, breaking the momentum of the Falcons and bringing it back to within two. The Blazers came into the last set tired and were able to make a comeback. "The last set was a close ending to a really fun game and I think my serving spree was a lot of fun and helped to boost the team morale so we could close out the game with a win," Smith commented.

Blair caught up after several heated passes of the ball and eventually overtook the Falcons, resulting in a score of 26-24. With repeated spikes by Smith and exciting defense by Zhao and freshman Eric Hao, the seniors and the rest of the team thoroughly enjoyed the game and won while doing so. "My goal tonight was not to win, just to let the seniors, who worked so hard, have a little fun, and they did. We ended up winning as well, which was really nice. I'm proud of the team and am looking forward to our future games," Coach Chris Liang said.