Girls volleyball moves onto CIF quarterfinals after second round win

On the night of Nov. 12, Samo stepped back on to their home court in the North Gym, ready for their second round CIF match. On the other side of the net, stood the JW North High School team. Both teams faced elimination. Samo came into the game fresh off a comfortable win against the Lancaster Eagles. According to Coach Wynn Trihn, they were playing well, and in this match they would continue to do so.Right out of the gates, the match was close, and both teams were playing well. The home team kept it close with great offensive play, and Samo won the first set 25-19.In earlier games, Samo would win a close first set and then pull away, but against JW North this was not the case. The opposition came back strong, according to Grace Garland (’17).“It was a tough game they had some really good hitters and an amazing libero,” Garland said.Those great hitters led to Samo’s second-set defeat, as they lost 22-25, unabe to withstand the offensive barrage of JW North.They kept up their offensive attack in the third set, and Samo’s communication faltered. Though the match stayed tight, Samo failed to secure momentum in a back-and-forth battle, and they let the third set slip away 23-25.Down one set to two, Samo needed to win the next set to stay alive in the playoffs. They needed to pull together as a team and rely on the skills that had gotten them this far. According to team captain Brooke Earkman (’16), the girls had a talk which turned themselves around.“What we did as a team is made sure we played as a family and I kept reminding the girls that this could be our last game ever playing with each other, which really motivated our girls to do better,” Earkman said.The pep-talk seemed to have an affect on the girls, because Samo put on a powerful offensive display in the fourth set. JW North couldn’t keep up with the Vikings, and Samo managed to win 25-15.With the game tied at 2-2, both teams went into the fifth and final set with their seasons on the line. Unlike normal sets, the tiebreaker set is played up to 15 points, instead of the regular 25. Facing elimination, each side had no room for mistakes. The home crowd was roaring as the ball began to fly, and from the start Samo looked confident. The game was tight, and the two teams traded points until the home side took the upper hand. Samo played with a sound defensive strategy, and they got the ball to the offensive players who were really doing damage.As the set came to a close, Samo would clinch a 18-16 fifth set win, which won them the match 3-2. The girls excitedly huddled up in victory, and the disappointed JW North team headed home.The Santa Monica Vikings will now head to the Rim Of The World high school for the CIF quarterfinals, with the hopes of staying alive, and carrying on to the semi-finals.