Coed volleyball charges past Rams

NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM -

Playing in a hot and humid gymnasium, an aggressive Blair coed volleyball team swiftly defeated a much smaller Rockville High School team, 15-1, 15-5, in one of the team's easier matches of the season.

After jumping to a 3-1 start in the first game, the Blazers (5-0) went on a 12 point run to end the game, which featured four ace serves by senior Tracy Lin and consistent setting by senior co-captain Jennifer Alyono. "We started off a little bad, but we got back into it quickly," said senior co-captain Lan Le.

The slower Rockville team failed to attack the ball, often sending free balls back over the net, which the Blazers capitalized upon by setting up their own hitters.

In the second game, Blair's domination on the court was still apparent. The Blazers scored the first nine points of the game on ace serves by sophomore Amanda Hsiung and senior Michael Fan, as well as kills by Tracy Lin and senior Aric Lin.

The Rams then went on a three point run of their own, due to missed hits by Blair. The Blazers countered with their own three point run, to put them up 12-3, and, after numerous side outs, finally put the game away.

The commanding lead in the second game gave Blair an opportunity to substitute in players from its bench, such as sophomore Rebecca Cho and senior Christie Chew.

For Blair, this game marked a change in the team's style of play. "Previously when we played bad teams, we always played to their level," said Tracy Lin. "But today we went by them and played our own game."

The match also featured the first game for junior Jeffrey Jabonete, who dislocated his shoulder earlier in the season. "It was nice to be back in the game," said Jabonete. "[My shoulder] is not 100 percent healed, but almost there."

The Blazers will need Jabonete's presence as a blocker in what could be their most difficult match this season, April 20 at Quince Orchard. "They're going to be a real tough game for us. It was last year," said Coach John Mott.

The highlight of the match came after the Blair win, when the entire team poured bottles of cold water onto a shocked and unsuspecting coach Mott. "We thought he was kind of hot," said Le.