From STAFF REPORTS What must Ella Mao, Debbie Hong and Zoey Mao be thinking? What was running through the heads of Alexis Pappachan, Kate Salembier, Lauren Kidman and the rest of the Poly girls volleyball program? Fair or not, they entered the 2018 season as the heavy favorites to win the Prep League championship after […]
From STAFF REPORTS
What must Ella Mao, Debbie Hong and Zoey Mao be thinking?
What was running through the heads of Alexis Pappachan, Kate Salembier, Lauren Kidman and the rest of the Poly girls volleyball program?
Fair or not, they entered the 2018 season as the heavy favorites to win the Prep League championship after they ended the two-year reign of Westridge.
But they got swept at Mayfield back on August 28.
And today, September 20, the Panthers trailed first-place Mayfield one game to none, and 10-20 in the second set.
What they thought was ‘we’ve got this’ if they played their game.
Poly rallied against a very tough and well-coached Mayfield team and defeated the Cubs in four games to earn their share of first place in the Prep League.
The Panthers earned the victory by scores of 23-25, 25-23, 29-27 and 25-21 on Thursday at home.
Kate Salembier played huge for Poly, and finished with 15 kills and 3 blocks.
Ella Mao added 7 kills, 18 digs, 4 aces and 3 blocks, and her sister, Zoey, contributed 43 assists, 22 digs, 3 aces and 3 blocks.
Debbie Hong gave the Panthers’ cause 25 digs and 12 assists, Lauren Kidman had 18 assists and Alexis Pappachan finished with 7 kills, 3 digs and 2 blocks in the victory.
Mayfield (6-1 in league) was led by Charlotte Pizante’s 11 kills and Emerson Gohrick added 10 kills.
Maeve Davitt contributed 32 digs and 9 aces for the Cubs and Ellie Watkins produced 28 assists and 10 digs.
Quotable:
Poly coach Katrina Damasco: “Beating Mayfield meant a lot to us today. Looking back at the first time we played them, we realized we had beat ourselves. And since that match, we have been working on identifying not only the volleyball skills we need to improve on, but also identifying ways we can be a more mentally tough and cohesive team.
Mayfield definitely tested us today. They are a tough, well-coached team with a lot of talent. And we knew we had to work hard and be on-point today if we wanted to win. We came out strong in the first set, but let up mentally allowing them to catch up and steal set 1 from us. The second set was a flash, and before we knew it, we were in the hole 10-20. It was at this time they got a wake up call, a fire was ignited within the team, and they showed the grit, fight, and determination to win the set. They were then able to focus on one point at a time for the rest of the match, siding-out quickly, and setting the tone of the match.
I believe that’s what helped us get the win this afternoon. We heavily relied on our serving and our serve receive and defense were much better than the first time we faced Mayfield. It took a lot of focus, tenacity, and teamwork to pull this win today.”
Records: Mayfield (10-4 overall, 6-1 in league); Poly (11-4, 8-1)
Poly’s Remaining Schedule:
October 4: Poly at Chadwick at 5
October 5: Poly at Flintridge Prep at 5:30
October 8: Providence at Poly at 3:45
Mayfield’s Remaining Schedule:
September 25: Chadwick at Mayfield at 5:30
September 27: Mayfield at Providence at 5:30
October 2: Flintridge Prep at Mayfield at 6
October 3: Mayfield at FSHA at 6:30
October 4: Rio Hondo Prep at Mayfield at 5:30
October 9: Mayfield at Westridge at 5:15
