The Spectator ● December 2, 2015
Page 31
Sports Girls’ Volleyball
Nancy Cao / The Spectator
Vixens Move On to Quarterfinals
Olivia Kusio is ready to spike as the Stuyvesant Vixens plays against Metropolitan High School in the Girls Varsity Volleyball Second Round Playoffs.
By Andrew Qu The stands were full when the Vixens, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity volleyball team, faced the Metropolitan Campus’s Lady Knights in their second round playoff game on Thursday, November 12. Though the match was held in Stuyvesant’s gym, the audience was mostly packed with the Lady Knights’ family members, who enthusiastically whooped, applauded, and cheered at every point the Knights scored. While they didn’t feel much of a homecourt advantage, the Vixens still narrowly bested the Lady Knights 25-23 in the first set, and then rallied together for an overwhelming 25-8 victory in the second. With this, the Vixens were propelled into the PSAL quarterfinals. The first set proved to be competitive from the very beginning and continued to be so, as neither team led by more than three points through the entire game. Junior Chloe Delfau opened up with a score for the Vixens. However, the quick offensive start did not necessarily translate to their defense as
the Lady Knights quickly came back with two straight points. Poor communication between two Vixens left both motionless as the Lady Knights attacked, and on the next play, a poor bump hit the ceiling and fell at an odd angle. The match continued back and forth, with neither team gaining a clear advantage. Kills were hard to come by as both teams picked up their defense as the game went on. Seniors and co-captains Mariya Kulyk and Tammy Liang notably played major roles in the Vixens’ defense as each contributed five digs, hits that receive attacks and prevent the ball from hitting the floor. “They really tested our defense. We couldn’t lower our energy,” senior Ashley Xia Lin said. In order to get past a stiff Lady Knight’s defense, the Vixen’s frontline employed several scoring tactics. In one play, Kulyk threw the defense off by faking a hard spike, then tipping the ball lightly over the net, giving the Vixens a 7-5 lead. Unfortunately, the Vixens could not follow up Kulyk’s point, as a few hits into the net shifted the lead over.
Later, junior Madeleine Ostergaard attempted a dump, a maneuver in which the setter tips the ball over the net on the team’s second hit. However, it wasn’t the optimal time to attempt a dump; the Lady Knights were ready to block the surprise attack. “A lot of their points were from our mistakes,” Liang said. The Lady Knights made their own mistakes, too. On consecutive plays, poor bumps sent the ball into the basketball boards hanging on the sides of the gym. The rest of the first set was marred with nets, outs, and technical errors on both sides. The predominantly Metrotech audience was fired up after an out by Lin tied the game 23-23. Unfortunately for them, Kulyk scored a kill to put her team up one point, and a double-touch violation by the Lady Knights handed the set to the Vixens, 25-23. Coach Vasken Choubaralian acknowledged his team’s struggles. “We made a lot of attack errors in the first set,” Choubaralian said. “Also, we didn’t know what to expect; we underestimated them.” The closeness of the first set served as a wake-up call to the Vixens. This was evident
as the Vixens visibly improved in the second set, making significantly fewer errors. With the second set tied at 2-2, the Vixens began to pull forward due to several mistakes from the Lady Knights; poor bumps and service errors resulted in easy points for the Vixens. While the Lady Knights continued to make unforced errors, the Vixens’ offense picked up. Ostergaard performed wonderfully, setting perfectly for strong hits by both Kulyk, who finished with nine kills, and junior Olivia Kusio, who finished with three. Ostergaard’s spectacular setting also allowed the Vixens to execute tandem attacks with precision. Their unpredictable offense put a lot of pressure on the Lady Knights, who appeared to be tiring as the game went on. After the Vixens went up 13-4, the Lady Knights scored after Liang was too far away to save a kill. However, they immediately lost possession afterwards, serving the ball into the net. The two teams played evenly for a while, and the Lady Knights scored some wellaimed kills that, again, were too
did not actually make contact with the ball and didn’t interfere with the play, there was no fault. In fact, the play would not have had any significant bearing on the game, as the Vixens ended the set with a 7-0 run, winning 25-8. Ostergaard credited her team’s dominant performance in the second set to their energy. “Our energy was a lot higher; energy is just as important as physical capability,” Ostergaard said. It was unusual seeing the Lady Knights struggling so much, since they finished the regular season with a clean 10-0 record. Ostergaard also acknowledged her team’s “consistent serving.” The Vixens finished with five aces and 25 service points. While both teams struggled in the first set, the second set was a different story, with the Lady Knights continuing to make unforced errors and the Vixen pulling it together. “We started off on a positive note, good plays in the beginning,” Choubaralian said. “We built confidence and confidence led to fewer errors.” Indeed, the Vixen’s errors
“We made a lot of attack errors in the first set. Also we didn’t know what to expect; we underestimated them.” —Vasken Choubaralian, coach
far from Liang for digs. The Vixens were up by nine points when a controversial call by the referee upset the crowd. The Vixens just barely managed to get the ball over to the Lady Knights, and the Lady Knights netted it as they tried to return it on their first hit. During the process, a Vixen collided with the net while trying to hit the ball. Shouts of “Call it both ways!” and “Open your eyes!” were directed at the referee, but because the Vixen in question
almost lost them the first set. However, as the playoffs continue and they face stronger teams, mistakes will become more and more costly. Choubaralian has also noted in the past that they have some trouble brushing off mistakes and staying focused. In addition, the Vixens won sets by as much as 20 points sometimes in the regular season. The change in competition could catch them off guard in the future, as it did on this occasion.
Boys’ Bowling
Spartans End With Confidence By Nadia Filanovsky The boys’ bowling team entered the playoffs with an impressive 8-3 record, and won their first game 2-0 against the Academy of American Studies Eagles. “In the first round of the playoffs, we were the underdogs, but with persistence and teamwork, we outlasted the other team and advanced to the next round,” senior and co-captain Eric Zhou said. Both rounds were close, with Team A scoring 545 versus the Eagles’ 531, and Team B scoring 409 versus the Eagles’ 393. Unfortunately, the next game in the playoffs did not go as well; they lost 2-0 to the Petride’s Panthers, a Staten Island school they had not played in the regular season. The first game had a combined score
of 787 (Petrides) versus 663 (Stuyvesant), and the second game had scores of 554 versus 405. The Panthers averaged close to 200 per person, while Stuyvesant only averaged slight-
Peter Strbik, a senior who had just begun playing for the team this year, played his best game of the season and scored a 234, which included seven straight strikes. “Knowing it was
“Knowing it was going to be a difficult game, I just cleared my mind and bowled the best I could.” —Peter Strbik, senior ly over 150 in the first game. The Spartans were still proud of themselves, though, considering that the Panthers are the fifth best team in the city.
going to be a difficult game, I just cleared my mind and bowled the best I could,” Strbik said. Last year, the team went un-
defeated in the regular season and made it to the third round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, two-thirds of the team graduated last year. As such, the team started this year knowing the season would be difficult, especially in the beginning. Even though the team did make it to the third round of the playoffs this year, Coach Di Wu was very happy with the team’s performance. “Overall, I consider this season a successful one after over two-thirds of the team graduated. The team certainly had its ups and downs but I am very happy with how quickly everyone bonded and collaborated. The more experienced players really took their time and helped the newcomers. Special shoutouts to my seniors who really made some clutch performances both dur-
ing the regular season and in the playoffs. Alex Baren (155), Eric Zhou (174), Sanil Dave (187), and Peter Strbik (234),” Wu said. With the team gaining so many new players, the members have developed a great dynamic and become very supportive of each other as the season progressed. Everyone really wanted their teammates to improve, and also tried to improve their own skills. “We encourage each other to do better and constantly try to beat our own high scores.” Zhou said. The majority of the team this year aren’t seniors, so that’s a bright spot for Stuyvesant. Looking to next year, their goal is to return to their former glory and go deeper into the playoffs once again.