After leaving everything they had on the floor, TJ’s Volleyball team walked away satisfied even after losing both of their District games Saturday.
Photo by Henry Jackson Jr.
Saturday morning began with excitement, the school bustling with teams and fans from schools around the state. In attendance were Mullen, Golden, Roosevelt, D’ Evelyn, and Mountain View. The teams were separated into two brackets: one included Mullen, Mountain View, and D’ Evelyn and the other Roosevelt, Golden, and your Lady Spartans. To move onto the next round the teams were required to win one of their two games and the winners from the final two games move onto Regionals, the tournament before state.
TJ began the day with Golden High School. The ladies were in high spirits compared to the tired looking Demons. As always, they started off with a bang. Everyone could see the intensity they had out on the court, determined to make this one of their best games, win or lose. Golden was scrappy with their defense, however, and relied on one player the entire game. Golden’s momentum began to pick up but TJ pushed back harder. After every point they would come together and cheer excitedly, realizing the importance of this game.
Big kills were made by the offense; Jessica Jackson, Celeste Henderson, Mallory Baker, and Olivia Breningstall were the lead attackers in the match, relentless on Golden’s defense. However, Golden relied on their big hitter to put it down every time. When Golden’s main offense was in the front row the ladies found a difficult time stopping them. The first set ended with a score of 25 to 23 Golden. The second set was the most hardly fought over. The score was ping-pong the whole way, neither team catching much of a lead. Despite the amazing defense TJ laid out on the court, amazing digs from Junior libero Angela Becker, the ladies couldn’t stop Golden’s big hitter and the game ended with an impressive score of 26 to 24 after she smashed the ball despite the ladies’ big block. Eager to redeem themselves they stepped out on the court for a possible final match. With such passion the ladies led with an incredible score of 17 to 9. However, the great lead allowed them to become too comfortable and confident. Golden came back at them and quickly caught up. TJ, unable to get themselves back in the game, lost with a score of 25 to 20; jaws dropped across the gym at such a site. Final score 3 – 0 Golden.
The second match against Roosevelt was the team’s final chance to continue in the District tournament. Having previously played Roosevelt during a game in the summer, TJ knew what they had coming. Just as with Golden, Roosevelt relied on a single bit hitter. This team was scrappy, tough, and strong. Roosevelt had to play Golden after TJ, beating them with a score of 3 – 0. The future seemed bleak for the Spartans, but without a win this would be their last game together. Before the game the seniors gathered the team and begged them to play their hearts out. Senior Tracey Sanchez was ready to put her heart into the game. “I love our team and all of the seniors wanted to leave the team having everyone know that. We told them that despite any lead or losses that may occur in this match, we had to keep our heads up and stay together. That’s the way I want to remember my last game, just loving every moment of it.” The inspiration of these words showed in the game on the court.
Before the game Becker also came to the team and promised to give it her all. “All I said before the game was to play it for the seniors. That’s all that needed to be said.” They did exactly what they promised. The ladies played their hearts out, they truly left everything out on the court. Seniors Olivia Breningstall, Tracey Sanchez, Patricia Mortel, Mallory Baker, and Kathleen Nguyen led the team with passion, helping their teammates, bringing them up, supporting them, giving their team amazing people on whom they could rely. With such fire inside each of them they stayed with Roosevelt, surprising everyone, in each set. However, the outcome was not as promising. The ladies lost in three sets with scores of 25 – 18, 25 – 19, and 25- 23. Tears filled the ladies’ eyes, but strangely they were not tears of disappointment. Mortel, devastated by the end said, “I could not have been more proud. After the game you couldn’t look at a single player and wish that they could have done something better. I believe it was everyone’s best game by far. I just couldn’t believe it was all over.”
The season may not have ended as all may have hoped, but TJ has a bright future ahead of them. With two freshman starters this year, Jessica Jackson and Sabrina Kohrt, the team for next year has already had plenty of experience. I wish them the best of luck and expect nothing short of a State title from them.
