The Saints barely had time to wash their knee pads after the CHSM tournament before they were back in action for the ninth match of the young season.
This time was an away game where they took a short trip down Loop 1604 from FORCE sports center to face off with Great Hearts Northern Oaks in their home gym. This was the second time facing Great Hearts in 11 days.
Middle School
Middle School A and Middle School B both had matches against Great Hearts. Both teams played well and showed improvement, but ended up losing both matches.
Junior Varsity
The JV team entered the match short handed with a few players out with injury or illness. Undeterred, the rest of the team picked up a new line up and started the game out with confidence.
Great Hearts kept the first set close until Sydney Roseberry decided to finish out the set by serving for 8 straight points with a combination of aces and great team defense.
In the second set a bit of fatigue seemed to fall over the team. Hits and passes that were crisp in the first set started to miss the target. The Saints held a lead, but the Griffins chipped away at it until they claimed a 25-23 victory.
The third set started off with a challenge as the Griffins opened up a 5-2 lead. They kept that lead and eventually won the set 15-8.
Varsity
A raucous student section and an energetic Griffin mascot welcomed the Varsity team to the Great Hearts gymnasium.
The first set started off slow for the Saints who might have been feeling a bit of CHSM hangover as they had some self inflicted errors resulting in Great Hearts points. They shook it off, however, with some great above the net play by Nessa Burton and Aubrey Garrad. The duo commanded the middle mostly unchecked all night with attacks to the Great Hearts center.
With the first set tied 20-20 Sofia Coignet rotated to serve and would not relinquish the serve. She served 5 straight as the Saints closed out the first set 25-20.
The second set continued the Saints solid play. The Griffins showed some life near the end of the set, but one rally that contained three straight hits by senior Natalie Galle was a declaration by the Saints that this set was theirs. The Saints won the second set 25-14.
The third set started out like a Talking Heads song: “Same as it ever was, same as it ever was…” with the Saints jumping out to a 8-1 lead using several well placed hits and setter tips. The Griffins called timeout at 18-7 to try to rally, but it didn’t work. The Saints won the third set 25-11 much to the chagrin of a visibly dejected Griffin mascot.
The Saints Varsity and JV next travel north on Hwy 281 to visit Bracken Christian School.