Varsity volleyball falls to Oviedo
photo by Abigail Neal
Libero Mayte Camacho serves the ball. The loss came at Oviedo, during their senior night.
With a packed gym and the two student sections trading chants and insults all night, varsity volleyball lost on the road to Oviedo, 3-2. On Sept. 15, Hagerty traveled to take on Oviedo for their senior night game. Both teams are highly ranked, and it was expected to be a close game, with Hagerty’s 8-3 record and Oviedo’s 8-5 record.
The nerves were high and energy escalated as the first plays were made. Oviedo gained an early lead and held onto their lead for the first two sets, both ending 25-22.
“I was pretty mad at the beginning of the game because I know physically we’re a better team, and they just had the mental game on us,” left-side hitter Brooke Stephens said.
With a long, close match, a few players got close to or broke school records. Stephens was close to breaking her school record of 29 kills with 27 kills during the match, while libero Mayte Camacho set a school record with 53 digs.
In set three, Hagerty made a comeback, winning the next two sets 25-14 and tying the game.
During the third set, Camacho led the team to a 10-point lead serving against Oviedo.
“[During] my 10-point run we all just kind of came together and were playing as a team, we didn’t let anything stop us,” Camacho said.
In sets three and four, the team had their head in the game and had better focus and communication. “We were ahead in sets three and four, we just didn’t finish,” coach Juanita Hitt said.
The last set was a back and forth between the teams. In set five, Hagerty took an early lead, but was slowly pushed back by Oviedo. “They didn’t perform to the best of their abilities. In game five, I think we gave up. We ran out of gas,” Hitt said.
Normally, the first match counts for Seminole Athletic Conference standings, but this year, the second match is the one that matters, so Hagerty will still have a chance to win a SAC title when they play Oviedo at home on Oct. 13.
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