JV Volleyball Wins Season Opener on the Road

The JV Volleyball team took its act on the road last Wednesday night, and opened the season win a win over Lee HS, 25-20, 20-25, 15-5. The Lady Jags used their powerful serving game and some timely attacking to break open games 1 and 3, and start off the season on a winning note.

Game 1 was close early, with defensive plays by Cristal Rivera-Mercado and Marjan Darab keeping the Jaguars in the game. Then Mary Pat Abraham stepped to the serving line. Ten serves and two Lee time-outs later, the Jaguars held a 22-13 lead. The Lee Lancers began a late-game rally, but two kills by hitter Alma Ortiz ended any hopes of a comeback. Setter Yuri Coronado assisted on Ortiz's attacks.

After the Jaguars serving game sputtered in Game 2, the Lancers moved out to a sizeable lead. The Jaguars raised their level of play, and cut into the Lancer lead behind serving aces from Ortiz, Silvana Rios, and Ileana Rosas, but in the end, Lee prevailed.

The third and deciding game featured another service run that blew things open for Falls Church. Ileana Rosas staked the Jaguars to an early 4-1 lead with two aces and a service winner. The Lancers began to battle back, and tied the game at 5. The next server for Falls Church was Silvana Rios, and she served for the remainder of the game. Included in the 10-point service run were several aces and service winners, as Rios overpowered the Lancers with her topspin serve.

After a final timeout at 13-5, the Lancers began to get Rios's serve back, but in both ensuing rallies Mary Pat Abraham ended the point with spikes from the power hitting position. Once again Yuri Coronado provided the sets that Abraham put away.

The Jaguars (1-0) look forward to two matches this week, including the home opener against Hayfield on Thursday. The Tuesday match is at West Potomac.