Varsity volleyball lost to Glendora 0-3 at their senior night game at home Tuesday, Oct. 15.
In the first set, Walnut was running a six-two, a rotation where the setter is always in the back row and never in front. After a serve from Glendora, Walnut hit back with a hitting error, which gave the first point to the Tartans. However, a point was recovered with a tip from senior outside hitter Caylin Caballero. As the game went on, Glendora extended their lead through a series of blocking and spikes from several players. Although it seemed that the Mustangs were gaining momentum, the set ended with a score of 9-25.
“[In the first set,] we had the setter stay back, and because of that, our hitters weren’t able to connect much with the setter. We also had an injury, [senior Mary Mora], and she’s one of our main passers. So without having her consistent passes, it kind of threw us all off,” setter senior Isabel Valle said.
The second set started poorly for Walnut as Glendora scored the first three points. Walnut soon got their first point after an attacking error by the Tartans. When Glendora scored, Walnut would catch up by having good communication between the hitters and the setters in order to get stronger hits. But with Glendora’s defensive blocks and strong offensive strategy, the Mustangs lost the second set 20-25.
Although they lost the first two sets, the third set was full of intensity. The first point was scored by Glendora. Walnut would soon score back and were winning against their opponents for most of the game with spikes, good blocks and defense from the libero. Towards the end, the Tartans scored and were ahead with good kills and blocks. Even though Walnut tried to make a comeback, the third set ended 22-25.
“What went right in the third set was that we had a lot more energy because obviously we didn’t want to lose, then that would have been the end of the game. So I think that was what really pushed us, aside from the first two sets. But I think what went wrong was we couldn’t find a way to come on top,” senior outside hitter Caylin Caballero said.
After the game, the team experienced a wave of emotions, facing some disappointment with their performance regarding the loss.
“I was a little upset, just because it was our senior night and my last game at home. Overall, I felt like we could have done better, and I felt like we as a team could have played a lot better than we did,” Valle said. “Volleyball itself is just a huge game of fun; it is a lot of fun to be able to put your heart out on the court and be able to fully go out because in the game, you forget everything else.”
Even with the loss, the team encouraged each other with words of affirmation. They had a motivated mindset and refused to let this ruin their senior night.
“The senior night was amazing,” senior setter and defensive specialist Angelynn Soong said. “All the underclassmen and juniors did a good job at making sure, even though we lost, we still had a happy senior night, and they still were able to make us laugh and cry.”
