Bittersweet Senior Night for women’s volleyball
By Elizabeth Kim,
HUB Correspondent–
By Elizabeth Kim
JV players and varsity teammates swarmed the women’s volleyball seniors at Senior Night on Nov. 5, showering them with food, flowers and posters. It was a bittersweet night for the team.
Davis lost all three sets, 2-25, 20-25 and 15-25.
The South Gym at Davis High was filled with spectators from both Elk Grove High and DHS.
Davis has three seniors: Zoe Hunt-Murray, Mackenzie Harrison and Jennifer Blanc. Blanc did not play in the game (and has been out) because of a torn ACL.
Davis was in second place in the league, and winning would mean snatching first from Elk Grove. But their loss meant dropping to third behind Monterey Trail.
Davis thought its opponent played well and was very strong. Davis coach Julie Crawford agreed, and said that Elk Grove had played flawlessly.
Despite the outcome, Senior Night was very special for the whole team.
“I think Senior Night was great and the ceremony meant a lot to me,” Blanc said. “Since I’m injured and couldn’t play, it was nice to be acknowledged as a part of the team.”
Family and friends alike from DHS came to watch the seniors play possibly the last game of their high school careers.
Davis had a late start. Elk Grove was leading the first set before DHS got a kill, making the score 1-4.
“I think they wanted it so bad that they just came out a little… Just not on top of their game,” Crawford said.
Davis did not score any more points until junior Maya Gilardi got a kill, making the tally 2-14.
Davis made some good plays. Crawford said, “I thought we had some good runs of momentum, and we had some good serving runs.”
Senior Zoe Hunt-Murray agreed. “The middle’s block—I think it was Karlie—Samantha’s ace, and just all out, I think our offense was really just key,” she said.
The second set started with Elk Grove in the lead until junior Irene Rutazihana tallied a kill after a long volley, making the score 1-3.
The set continued with Elk Grove’s players putting some distance between them and Davis’.
But even with the stretch of points, fans continued to cheer for Davis. JV volleyball stayed after its game to watch varsity.
Normally, not all of JV stays. “Usually half the team has to ref,” Lilly Purves, a sophomore on JV said. But since it was Senior Night, the girls stayed and cheered their varsity counterparts on.
In the third set, Davis got a quick kill and another swiftly afterwards. Elk Grove scraped a point when Davis knocked the ball foul.
The scores were close, with the two schools neck and neck. One team would get a point only to have the other team become even with them shortly after.
The game continued with the two teams even, but then Elk Grove started distancing itself from Davis. The score stretched from 13-18, to 14-20, to the final score of 15-25.
The seniors played well, and Crawford said that Harrison and Hunt-Murray had a consistent game.
“I’m really going to miss (the seniors),” Crawford said, “I’m going to miss their love for volleyball.”
Although Davis shed some tears, Rutazihana said she liked “the memories that (they) will have from this game.”
“I just liked the tough, competitive fight and how the team left it all on the floor for Senior Night,” Hunt-Murray said.
“I look at this season as the best season I have had at DHS. Sure we had some losses, but we had some amazing games too, like when we beat Monterey Trail on Halloween,” Harrison said. “I’ll miss everything about DHS volleyball: the teammates, the coaches, practices, games, and most of all playing on the court with my team. My teammates are like sisters to me.”
