Bulldogs sweep by Hawks
PALMDALE — Highland girls volleyball head coach Adam Burger said that every player on his team has the same mentality.
“We take every team seriously,” Burger said. “We want to play at a high level at all times.”
Burger credits his team’s preseason and the challenging tournaments that the Bulldogs have competed in for their razor-sharp focus throughout the season.
Highland maintained its spot in second place behind Quartz Hill with a 25-11, 25-23, 25-19 victory over third-place Knight, Tuesday evening at Highland High School.
“Our focus has been our serving and passing. Since the Cal City tournament, we have tried to maintain an intelligent offense,” Burger said. “I think the girls were inspired from the lower levels. They took it seriously from the start. Knight pushed us to play some of the best volleyball we’ve played all season. I was pleased with our performance tonight.”
The Bulldogs (18-6, 8-1) were balanced offensively as 12 different players had at least one kill. They were led by Samiyah Edwards, who finished with nine kills. Breyah Watson and Amey Nono each had four kills for Highland.
The Bulldogs served especially well, finishing with 13 aces compared to only four service errors.
“We try to use every game to better ourselves to the path we want to take in the future ,” Edwards said. “Our energy was really good, tonight. We have such good chemistry with each other on and off the court. We just lift each other up and it starts in practice. We know what the main goal is and we know it won’t be easy, but we use that mindset to get things done. We’re just taking one match at a time. We’re not
looking at a match in the future that isn’t even here yet.”
The Hawks (6-8, 6-3) seemed to leave their game on the bus to open the first set. Point-after-point, Highland scored in bunches and often. The Bulldogs led 5-0, then extended the lead to 10-1, in front of a dazed Knight team.
Highland kept steam rolling forward by using a 7-0 run on serves by Rubi Reyes to seal the first set and take a 1-0 lead. Reyes finished with three aces in the match. The Bulldogs were led by Ela Serrano’s four aces. Edwards, Nono and Nyana Rowland each had two aces.
“That was a rough game for us,” Hawks head coach Brandon Bell said. “Our mental fortitude wasn’t there all night. We weren’t completely in the game. We just didn’t play like we normally play. We relaxed too much and that wasn’t a game I know we can play.
“We didn’t play to our level, or Highland’s level either. We didn’t communicate and at times we got down on each other. Our energy didn’t pick back up. We must mentally prepare for any situation, whether we’re up 10 points or down 10 points. We have to keep the same energy at all times.”
After the wakeup call in the first set, Knight started the second with more intensity. It won the first five points to lead, 5-0. However, that momentum was short-lived as Highland reeled off eight consecutive points, including all four aces by Serrano and two kills, to take an 8-5 lead.
The teams played even
the rest of the set with neither team getting a complete stranglehold on the other. Following a kill by Watson, the Bulldogs led 23-20. A kill by Alyssa Guzman followed by an error by Highland pulled the Hawks to within one, 2322. Two consecutive errors by Knight solidified the set for Highland.
“As a team, we got in our heads,” Guzman said. “We got scared to make mistakes and we let everything get to us. We got frustrated with each other, and there was no communication amongst us. This match was more mental than physical. They beat us on our mental game. In the first set, we got humiliated and we weren’t playing to our level. But this is something we can learn from. This shows us what we need to work on.”
Guzman led the Hawks with eight kills, while teammates Variah Basua and Adrian Givens each had four kills. Janelle Cardenas had two kills and one block for Knight.
The Hawks were resilient in the third set, as Highland held a slim lead. The Bulldogs led 19-14 following a kill by Rowland, but Knight rallied back to cut the lead to 19-16. Things went south for the Hawks very quickly as they served three straight errors, giving Highland its 20th, 21st and 22nd points. The Bulldogs pulled away to seal the victory.
Highland used its depth, which Burger says will help his team in the future, to earn the victory.
“The team size that we have, they all have to love each other,” he said. “It’s nice to get all players opportunities. We’re all strong players. We always have intense practices, but we have fun as well.”