Competition Summaries

The Tigers surgically took care of their opponents, Cheng Zheng Junior High, on Friday night, winning in straight sets 5-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20). With a focused approach to the nuances of the game within the drills and scrimmages during the week, the objective was to play "smart" volleyball instead of relying on perfectly time big hits for the entire duration of the game. The Tigers were focused and ready to play with monster hits from Nicholas T. ('21) and Darren T. ('22) in the first set. This set the tone and opened up the entire court for the rest of the team. Co-captains Michael W. ('21) and Nickolas G. ('22) consistency in their play, particularly in the transition game, led momentum-shifting points throughout the five sets. Players tasked with new assignments or increased playing time such as Jake L. ('22), Lucas W. ('22), and Ryan S. ('22) played phenomenally well with Jake establishing the middle hitter, Lucas's second ball sets, and Ryan's positions on digs were all major contributing factors of a successful evening. Serving was much more consistent than the previous week, another focus from practices, where Cheng Zheng was not able to establish any rhythm or confidence in running their offense. Other strong performances included Will L. ('22) big-time hits, Luke H. ('22) perfect kill percentage, and Stephen B. ('21) leading all passers with quality serve receives showed that the Tigers were able to put all facets of the game together. The Tigers look to build on this momentum in next week's weekend tournament.

Fans who made the trek up to the Middle School gym for this Saturday morning game were treated to a nail-biter, as the girls eked it out in 5 sets. The first set did a lot to determine the outcome of the game. Sarah J. ('21) scored on a quick early in the set, setting up a beautiful stack where Karen W. ('20) faked so hard even the cameramen were fooled as Yasmin L. ('20) swooped in for the kill. After TAS built the early lead, the scrappy girls from Jiaoxi worked their way back - trading point for point before ultimately conceding 30-28 in the longest set yet for TAS this season. Despite demonstrating some of the best set selection of the season during the first set, the TAS girls faded a bit in the second. Serve accuracy was an issue, as was predictability. The girls relied heavily on Angelina C. ('22) as a security blanket, as the 9th-grader logged 38 swings (many from the back row) in pursuit of her 10 kills. After dropping the 2nd set, the TAS girls played the third neck and neck before Karen W. ('20) got a huge push to all but close out the set. She finished the game with 6 aces on 13 serves with only 1 service error. The TAS girls dropped the 4th set setting up the tie-breaker. Starting outside hitter Yasmin L. ('20) had to sit it out due to shoulder soreness, but the Emilys - T. ('19) and H. ('20) - filled in ably. Down 7-11 in the final set, the girls came from behind to win 15-13 on a service push from Angelina C. ('22) who, in addition to leading the team with 10 kills (team-high 38 on the season), pounded 4 aces in 22 serves and added 7 digs on defense (team-high 36 on the season). Charlotte L. ('20) also contributed a season-high 35 quality serve receives at libero while Stephanie W. ('19) had a season-high 37 setting assists. The girls have now shown that they can win in close games against quality opponents and are looking forward to hosting a tournament this coming weekend.

The Tigers fought out a scrappy win against a solid opponent in this encounter. Passing at times lacked accuracy and direction, while midfield shape and work ethic is still yet to mature. The Tigers have passed the midpoint of the season and though it is pleasing to obtain a result in a tense struggle, preparation for even greater struggles at IASAS will need more players to adhere to their responsibilities. A pleasing result though not pretty to watch!.

The young Tigers continued their unbeaten season by obtaining a commendable third consecutive win. This was a tight match against a team containing several skillful players. However, our young team kept a clean sheet by excelling in defense where our intensity, coordination and teamwork were exemplary. Ethan C. ('22) had a remarkable match and Nick L. ('21) and Louis A. ('21) had standout performances in defense. Our defensive unit was also helped by our dynamic midfield led by James C. ('22) and Jonathan P. ('22). Up front, Tommy C. ('21) scored a forceful goal and was unlucky not to score a second one as the crossbar denied what would have been one of the most impressive goals of the season. Kofi A. ('22) was close to scoring a beautiful header. A point worth noting is that due to the squad's impressive work rate, the game had to be stopped 10 minutes before the end of the match as several opponents were suffering from cramps. It is clear that our young squad is continuously improving and that our young players are applying what they have been learning during our training sessions.

The Tigers earned their first win of the season by defeating Dominican in a solid four sets. It was great to see the girls’ confidence soar with each set they played. Our serving was excellent throughout the match with the entire team serving 80%. Service leaders were: Natalie H. (’21, 12-of-15), Sofia L. (‘21, 12-of-14 with eight aces), Lola W. (‘22, 9-of-10), Phoebe H. (‘22, 12-of-12), and Anne M. (‘22, 8-of-9). The hard work on serve reception paid off as we had a season-high 60 attacks and 26 kills. Moa S. (‘21) chalked up 19 assists and Lola W. (‘22) contributed seven. Our attack leaders were Sofia L. (six kills), Lena S. (‘21, five kills), and Natalie H. (‘21, four kills). Liberos Katie W. (‘21, eight assists) and Grace L. (‘22, seven assists) were effective passers throughout the match.