Blazers save the set

SEPT. 13, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMANISUM—

The Blair girls' varsity team volleyball served their way to another win tonight against the Richard Montgomery Rockets in a four set win. The Blazers ruled the court against the inexperienced Rockets with powerful spikes and almost perfect teamwork. Blair faltered in the third set however, continuously serving into the net, allowing Richard Montgomery to win 21-25, after winning the first two sets with large leads, 25-9 and 25-10. The final set revealed Blair's ability to come back and clinch a win that was rightfully theirs, winning the set 25-15 and the game three to one.

Blair quickly pulled ahead of Richard Montgomery in the first set, intimidating the Rockets with five perfect serves by junior co-captain Julie Zhu. Seniors Felicia Olawuni and Alice Fan contributed a combined 11 points with strong serves and teamwork that enabled Blair to achieve 18 points in the first ten minutes. "We're really competitive this year, we talked it up, we were a team," explained junior Olivia Bozik. As the Blazers' point count continued to rise and the Rockets' remained stagnant, coach Heather Amell began subbing in new players including junior Molly Martinez and junior Gabrielle Gersh. The set ended with Blair ending Richard Montgomery's misery quickly and stealthily at 25-9.

The Blazers did not show the same power in the beginning of the second set as they did in the first. The initial points were garnered from the Rockets' mistakes. However, with help from senior Wendy Quintanilla, Blair was able to distance themselves through strong spikes and powerful serves. Quintanilla increased the score from 9-6 to 17-6 with seven serves that Richard Montgomery could not return due to poor teamwork. A few more mistakes by Richard Montgomery and four more aces later, the Blazers won their second set 25-10.

The third set proved to be a disappointment to the Blazers. The set was lost due to poor concentration, uncontrolled returns and weak serves leaving Blair looking like rookies. "We had some screw-ups, we may need to work on our serves, the consistency," said Zhu. Blair fought to regain the lead after the Rockets stole it early on, but could never get within three points of the leaders. The set ended 21-25 and the Blazers prepared themselves for another unexpected set.

The final set brought the Blazers back to their initial intensity. Blair played like a team, making incredible saves that made even the Rocket fans cheer. Richard Montgomery began to back down once they saw the Blazers were back and wanted their win. Blair took advantage of all the Rockets' uncontrolled passes and mistakes to win the fourth set 25-15.

Amell is happy with the team's performance against Einstein and Richard Montgomery. "There's more talking, more enthusiasm, definitely see that." Quintanilla said the team has had a great start, and expectations for the rest of the season are high, and with Blair's talent, there is no doubt those expectations will be met.

Blair's next game is at home on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. against Sherwood.