Photo Credit: Andre Doty
Carly Hanna (11) and Nevaeh Tillet (4) with the double block!
Posted: Oct 25, 2024
October 25, 2024
The Vaqs opened up the 2nd round of conference play on the road at LA Mission, the one team to defeat them in the first round of play. Unfortunately the Vaqs fell just short of the win once again, this time losing in 5 sets by the scores of 25-21, 10-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-11.
The first set was a back and forth game that saw the score tied 12 different times along the way. "I thought in that first set we came out playing well," said Coach Niksto, "but we didn't fully lock into the game plan we were trying to execute until the second set." The second set was a completely different story, with the Vaqs jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead, and never looking back. "Val went on a long serving run in the second set, and both Kaylin and Carly were dominant forces defensively at the net, with each of them recording 3 blocks in that set alone!" After another solid win in set 3, the momentum in the gym changed. With a change in their offense, LA Mission jumped out to an early lead in set 4, and the Vaqs struggled to regain their flow. Mission went on to close out set 4 and finish the game off in set 5. "This one was a hard loss to take, because in my heart I know we should have won," said Coach Niksto. "Credit to Mission for making the change that threw us off our rhythm, but our goal is to be able to adapt and make the in-game changes as needed. I feel like we will definitely learn and grow from this loss, and hopefully be better because of it."
Kaylin Cooney had another standout game, leading the team offensively with 15 kills (and 8 blocks), while middle blocker Carly Hanna led the team defensively with 10 blocks, a career high for her. Tana Long also had a great night, picking up the first double double of her career with 12 kills and 16 digs.
The Vaqs will be back at home this week, up first versus Cuesta on Wednesday at 6pm.
