Blazers knock Knights off horse

APRIL 21, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM—

The Blazers started off on par with Wheaton today but broke away late in the first set to make an increasingly one sided match. The Blazers (5-3) were on fire in their 25-15, 25-11, 25-9 win against the Knights.

Typical for Blair this season, the Blazers started slowly. Neither team was up more than three points until Blair took a lead of 19-15. At that point, Zach began a seven point run with three aces to bring the team a first set victory.

Unlike two days ago against Magruder, the Blazers' serve-return play was dependable and effective. Blair did not see the effects of its serve-return play until the Knights started getting tired in the second set. Most points earned by the Knights cost them the energy of a long, strenuous volley. Wheaton started to get tired early in the set and made three netted serves, five returns out of court and seven dropped passes in the second set alone. Mott felt so sure of the Blazers' lead and abilities that he switched out co-captain Zack Koerper for the first time this season during a home game to give playing time to another. Almost every Blazer got playing time today.

In the third set, freshman setter Julie Zhu led the Blazers in a thirteen point run. After Blair netted a serve, Wheaton served the ball deep and the ball was then passed to Zhu, who set the ball behind her into unguarded Knight territory and scored. Next up to serve, Zhu went on to make seven unreturned serves before serving out of court. She would be assisted in the run by three successful spikes by junior Adrian Cretzu. After Blair's run, Wheaton didn't make more than two consecutive points.

After unexpectedly missing Tuesday's match, sophomore Cal Burton and Allen Zhang were in attendance today. They helped build a strong defense that remained unwavering even after they were taken out. "Our defense was better than on Tuesday," said Zhu struggling to catch her breath a minute after the last set. "We still need to work on passing. We dropped the ball a lot."

The lack of energy in the stands disappointed Zhu and Koerper, who both expressed higher hopes for the next match. "There was no crowd today," said Koerper. "It'll be a tough game against Churchill, but we beat Wootton. Those are the two best teams in the county. There will be a big crowd when we face Churchill."

The Coed Volleyball team's next match will be against Churchill on April 25 at 5:15 p.m.