DHS volleyball breezes past Monterey Trail

When the DHS women’s J.V. volleyball team stepped onto their home court on Wednesday evening to face off against Monterey Trail for the second time this season, they had one goal in mind: to improve upon their last match-up against the Mustangs.

Two weeks ago, DHS narrowly skimmed past Monterey Trail with a 24-26, 25-23 and 15-11 contest. According to sophomore middle hitter Adriana Defty, they were not playing their best because they started giving up after a streak from Monterey’s strongest server. However, on Wednesday, the Devils aimed to step up their game and stay undefeated in the Delta Valley Conference (currently 6-0-0).

DHS certainly brought their game as they comfortably conquered Monterey 25-14, 25-19. Although the contest was close at first, precise setting by sophomore Stephanie Siu helped the Devils pull away.

Towards the end of the second game with a score of 24-15, DHS just needed one more point to ensure a victory.

However, the Devils struggled, allowing the Mustangs to assemble four points, thus closin in on the Devil’s lead. Seeing this, DHS J.V. head coach Julie Crawford called a time-out to discuss team tactics.

After the one minute break, both teams battled hard in the intense rally, with the Mustangs unwavering in their determination and effort by courageously plunging to the wooden floor without the protection of kneepads to keep the ball in play. Even so, the Devils ended up on top, winning the match.

Crawford was clearly pleased with this contest as she nodded her head and said, “We played very consistent and attacked the ball. We made them do the errors and eliminated [our] unforced errors.” Crawford commended sophomore outside hitter Aly Crary’s all around stellar performance, especially her offense, laying down a couple kills and an ace.

Crawford added that sophomore middle hitter Lyndsay Chambers excelled with tough serving and Defty exemplified aggressive attacking that posed threats for the Mustangs.

Chambers was content with the outcome, saying that DHS played well and was able to successfully evade Monterey’s standout blocker. However, Chambers noted that even with a solid game, there were some moments of lapse.

“Towards the end, we needed better passing, but we pulled it together,” Chambers said.

With the confidence from their solid performance on Wednesday, the Devil’s enter their last week of league, beginning with a contest against Elk Grove on Monday.

Note: Jessica Bodine was not in attendance while Abbi Furlow was out sick.