Campo Sweeps Aca with Abundance of Energy

On October 11, the Cougars Women’s Varsity Volleyball team took on the Acalanes Dons. The Cougars swept the Dons with an ending score of 3-0 in sets.

Prior to this game, the Cougars were on a 6-0 winning streak, and hadn’t dropped a set in league. With this win, the Cougars held a 19-6 record. Going into the game, the Cougs were coming off a win against Miramonte, sweeping the Matadors on their home court.

During the game, the team worked to have high energy if they wanted to take the win. Senior setter Anna Dendinger said, “On the court we were celebrating every point, especially the 7 or 8 consecutive points to win the 3rd set.”

The high energy boosted the team’s play, created by energetic cheers that radiated off the bench and sideline.

The team was familiar with how Acalanes played, having played them earlier in the season, so with the knowledge from the last match, they were able to target players and knew where they should set their defense. The game plan was executed, which allowed Campolindo to cruise through the 1st 2 sets, winning 25-15 in the 1st, and 25-17 in the 2nd.

Dendinger said, “The energy had to be high the entire game for our team to play well.”

The team experienced an energy dip in the beginning of the 3rd set, which allowed Acalanes to go on a run. At 1 point leading 12-4 midway through the set, the bench was quiet, and overall the team seemed defeated.

Dendinger said, “I think we started off the 3rd set expecting it to be an easy win, so our energy was low. The game has its ups and downs and it is pretty much all relative to the energy of the team.”

Kills from junior outside Charlotta Bell and a mini serving run from senior setter Oliva Woo put the Cougars down only 5 points, making the score 17-12. A key service error by Acalanes libero gave Campo’s libero Sammy Brouhard the serve, which is where the tide began to turn for the Cougs.

With Brouhard on the line, Campo got 3 free points off of Acalanes errors. A service ace by Brouhard tied up the score 24-24. Dendinger then set up Bell and she got a crucial kill, right down the line on the outside blocker and defender, putting the Cougs up by 1 point. After a long rally, the error by Acalanes outside secured the cougars the win of the set, and of the game.

Ending their league season, the Cougs went undefeated with a record of 10-0. They had an impressive final league matchup with Northgate, only dropping 2 sets. Going into postseason they were predicted to be the No. 1 seed, but unfortunately lost to Marin Cathloic in the NCS finals. They are now competing in CIF and won their first game against Clovis East High School on 11/8. Their next matchup is against Valley Christian High School in the 2nd round on 11/10.