April 4th, 3:00 pm
Yesterday (04/04) the female volleyball team had their first match of the season against The British School of Rio de Janeiro (TBSRJ). Tensions were high, especially as the girls had lost to the same school on the futsal court earlier on the same day.
The game began on an uncertain note: the Falcons scored the first two points. Despite that, the energy stayed high as both the players and the crowd chanted and yelled in support of the team. The third point did not disappoint: Annie Santos (12) obliterated any possibility of defense with a beautiful spike. From there on the Lady Hawks continued to only climb up, and by the time of the first time-out the score was already 11-09 favorably to EABH.
The girls came back even more motivated, regardless of already having the lead. Anna Flávia (4), notoriously known as Pulga, prepared to serve with the score at 13-11. Pulga scored three consecutive points by acing all her serves, leaving the game at 16-11.
The next point was competitive and longer than the previous ones; however, it came to an end with an impressive spike from Marcela (05). After some suspense, as both teams claimed the point, the judge sided with EABH, leading to a lot of screams and applause. Meanwhile, Pulga continued her undefeated streak of serves until the score reached 19-13. With motivation soaring high, the Lady Hawks quickly scored the points needed to finish the first set and claimed it with a score of 21-13.
With the Lady Hawks on the lead, coach Laura decided to change strategy, switching Lydia’s (13) and Annie’s positions. The upper hand EABH demonstrated in the last set allowed for Annie, previously playing as opposite, to now play as middle, and for Lydia, previously middle, to play on the opposite position. The second set was about to start and expectations were even higher. The girls entered the court as the EABH students in the crowd cheered loudly.
The first point went to the Falcons, despite Mariana Lanna (01) skillfully saving the ball while sliding on the floor. Regardless, confidence was still high, and with amazing team cooperation EABH scored the second point. Pulga followed that with another ace, and after that the Lady Hawks barely gave the Falcons a fighting chance. Minutes later, with an incredible block from Brunna (16), the score reached 7-2.
The game continued with loud encouragement coming from the team captain, Marcela. Brunna scored the next point for the Hawks with a beautiful spike. She continued scoring points for the team with an ace, leaving the game at 13-7.
After a time out, the girls come back stronger than ever. The first point was by Marcela, with another impressive spike. For the second point, Anna Pulga came back with yet another ace, leaving the EABH with an astounding 10-point difference from TBSRJ and the score at 17 - 07.
At this point, Julia and Anabella entered the court, substituting Marcela and Pulga. Immediately they proved their importance to the team, first with an ace from Julia, which put the score to 20-11. The last point was Anabella’s serve, and she ended the game in the most EABH way possible: with an ace!
Afterwards, as the team huddled up, Coach Ms. Jill delivered the most perfect closing remarks that could not have summarized the game any better. She turned to the athletes and said: “There is only one thing left to say: it was a great game.”
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