Blazers serve the Titans a loss

Oct. 14, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMANISUM—

The Blair girls' varsity volleyball team walked onto the court tonight after a win against Whitman on Monday, confident that they could again emerge victorious against the Einstein Titans. The Blazers exceeded even their own expectations, as the team played the best they have all year, winning 25-13, 25-11, and 25-22, exhibiting impressive serving and communication throughout the match. Blair showed excellent teamwork and energy in the first two sets, but was forced to come from behind in the last set to clinch the win tonight.

The first set started slowly for Blair, but after a few quick points back and forth, Blair took the lead and started pulling away from the Titans. Einstein allowed several easy returns to slip through their fingers, allowing the Blazers to take control of the set while changing the score from 5-5 to 12-7. Blair began to look more comfortable on the court, setting the ball for each other, while executing their passes and returns skillfully. "We've improved our strategies with setting the ball a lot," said sophomore Olivia Bozik.

Blair's accuracy while serving helped them win the set. After extending the lead to 17-11, Blair needed only eight more points to finish with a win. Blair responded with three points from sophomore Julie Brice's powerful serves, and junior Alice Fan ended the game 25-13 with another three points from successful serves.

Blair attained a large lead in the second set even earlier with the score at 9-1. Five accurate serves by junior Felicia Olawuni helped to propel Blair to the quick advantage. The Blazers rarely allowed the Titans to put points on the scoreboard, ambushing Einstein every chance they had. The final blows were delivered through sophomore Julie Zhu. With the score at 19-9, Zhu finished off the game with six winning serves, including two aces.

Blair started slow in the third set, exhibiting none of the confidence or energy the displayed in the previous sets. Blair and Einstein were head to head with the score tied at 8-8, when surprisingly, the Titans pulled in front. The Blazers were not watching the ball or communicating. "We cannot be depending on somebody behind you to catch the ball. Everybody should be turning their heads looking for it," explained Olawuni. Olawuni's wishes unfortunately fell on deaf ears when, with the score 17-20, an Einstein serve hit four Blazers because no one was watching the ball. The Blazers continued to fight and managed to keep up with the Titans while still behind 18-21. Zhu then hammered six serves over the net, and Blair took back the lead, 24-21. With a serve from junior Sophia Smith the Blazers won the set 25-22.

Brice sees this win as the start of something positive for Blair. "Hopefully this is the beginning of a winning streak," she said. Blair showed an increased amount of teamwork and accuracy while serving, both of which contributed to their strong win. Blair's record now stands at 4-6-0.

Blair's next game is at Blair on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. against Kennedy.