Girls’ volleyball on a roll, loses to Windward

“Ayoh, Ayoh, Ayoh,” screamed the crowd as Samo girls’ volleyball team fought their way back to win against Culver City in there third league match. Though the first game was plagued with errors, the team took the subsequent games in their usual dominating fashion, winning 15-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15.“[After the first game], I told my girls, ‘last time I checked it takes three games to win a volleyball match, so it’s time to push,’” captain and outside hitter Dana Ritchie said.Going into the second game they made an uncharacteristic eight serving errors and gave up momentum to the Culver City team. It looked as if Samo was heading towards their first loss. The Samo bench looked unusually nervous, but steeled themselves for the second game.“It was our game, and we were here to win it,” senior setter Tess Walther said.The team had nine kills and six aces in the second game alone, with huge blocks coming from middle blockers Joslyn Hayes and Greta Schmittdiel. The ecstatic Culver crowd now stood in shock as the Lady Vikings ripped away the second game.Ritchie came back in the fourth to lead the girls on a fourteen point run to seal the match.“They came back this year very strong, but we came back even stronger,” Hayes said.“Hearing everybody cheer made us want to give them something worth cheering for,” Hayes said.The noise was deafening, but it was Samo’s forceful play that left the Culver team speechless.The team continued on to beat Inglewood, Morningside, and Beverly Hills.In their toughest match yet against Beverely Hills the team had minor mistakes but pulled together and defeated their long standing rivals 25-18, 25-23, 25-22 in a heated match.Samo girls took the 15 minute trek over to Marlboro Highschool Saturday for there first tournament of the year.Going into the tournament they were ranked second in pool play going up against Marlboro, Beverly, Gar, and Buckley. The girls were excited for a repeat victory against their rivals.The girls lost the first game, 23-25, but overwhelmed them, 25-15, giving them the match, by outscoring their opponents. However, after the high of winning and two hours of waiting, the girls lost to Windward.Although Samo did not win at Marlboro, their outlook on the season is optimistic.Nicholas ZarchenStaff Writer