DVHS Men’s Varsity Volleyball triumphed over Monte Vista High School (MVHS) on April 19, winning the three sets 25-14, 25-20 and 25-21, respectively. 

Monte Vista earned the first point of the game, with an out-of-bounds spike from Dougherty Valley setter Rio Krauss. However, the Wildcats were able to quickly side out when MVHS’s serve netted, and they gained the advantage after a well placed tip. A failed quick block from Gavin Kristic and Marco Esteban sent the ball back to Monte Vista, but they missed their serve again, bringing the score to 4-2. Sloppy defense led to Krauss bumping the ball into the net, but Dougherty got the ball back after a block from MVHS fell through. The teams continued their back and forth as Dougherty struggled with slow defense and MVHS with inconsistent serving. A good block from defensive specialist Ian Weng and a MVHS touch helped DV reach and defend a three-point lead, but the game remained close as both teams missed serves and struggled to pass effectively.

MVHS netted their return in a clean serve from Krauss, giving Dougherty a four-point lead and prompting a timeout. After the timeout, great passing set up primary outside hitter Ethan Tsao for a spike across the court that landed right past MVHS’s defense, expanding Dougherty’s lead. A spike from Gavin Kristic landed just out of bounds, prompting another time out at 12-9. Kristic immediately redeemed himself with a strong spike that MVHS was slow to respond to, helping reset the game’s momentum towards Dougherty, secured by consecutive successful double blocks and a strategic tip from Middle Alexander Daveynis. 

Outside Hitter Carson Tetik explained that the team worked on blocking by doing six on six drills at practice, and said, “As a team we just got better, became more fluent.”

A well-timed spike from Daveynis ended up out of bounds, but DVHS quickly sided out after they incorrectly called a bump from Tetik. A spike from Middle Blocker Sindhunandan Udhayakumar landed in a seam, bringing Dougherty to 21-12, and their lead grew after an impressive double block. A soft tip from Daveynis threw MVHS off their rhythm, so they failed to get the ball over in three passes, getting DV two points away from the win. The score went to 24-14 after an MVHS serve went out of bounds. On the winning point, Dougherty completed a double block and ended the set at 25-14. 

In set two, MVHS responded to a clean serve from Krauss, but a double block from middle blocker Marco Esteban and Daveynis secured the point for Dougherty. Krauss continued to serve as Dougherty reached 3-0, but MVHS scored their first point after DV took four passes to get the ball over. MV continued to catch up after a lift on Krauss, but Dougherty sided out with a well-timed block from Kristic. They tied at 4-4 after Udhayakumar missed a serve and Daveynis bumped into the net, and tied again at 5-5 after more inconsistent serving. A MV violation gave Dougherty the ball, and when MVHS freeballed into the net, the Wildcats regained a two-point lead, which they secured with a spike from Tetik. 

A slow response to a DVHS bump made the score of 9-6, and their lead continued to decline after they bumped out. After a block fell through on both sides, the score remained close at 10-8, but DV regained the advantage after an out of bounds serve from MVHS. MV’s sloppy response to a smooth tip from Udhayakumar brought the score to 12-9, and he defended that three-point lead with a spike that landed just beyond MV’s defense. MV got an ace after Dougherty bumped the ball backwards, but a strong spike from Kristic defended the three-point lead and prompted a timeout. Udhayakumar took on serving after the timeout, and a strong spin serve set up a double block from Kristic and Daveynis. Then, a graceful tip from Daveynis brought DV to a five-point lead and good passing set up a strong spike from Tsao, 17-11. Uncoordinated defense led to MVHS’s bump going over DV’s double block, but DV regained their six-point lead after a Monte Vista bump fell though. A DV pass fell after Kristic and Esteban both dove and missed, giving MV the advantage and bringing Dougherty down to a three-point lead. 

Tsao noted the inconsistent defense, saying “There were a few times we could have gotten the ball up and we didn’t go for it, so I think we should work on that”.

DV’s imprecise passing led to a bump out of bounds, but DV was able to defend their three-point lead with consistent serves and strategic defense. After poor communication led Dougherty to drop a freeball, DV called a time out at 24-19, and MVHS scored the next point with a well placed bump past DV’s defense. On the winning point, Kristic pancaked the ball and Tetik somersaulted to complete a one-handed backward pass, which was picked up and bumped backward over the net. Tetik and Daveynis ran to the net for a double block and MV struggled to get the ball up but eventually got it over. The eventful rally concluded with a quick tip from Udhayakumar, ending the game at 25-20. 

DV scored the first point of set three with a block from Krauss. A sleek spike from Udhayakumar went unreturned, helping the score get to 3-1. DV sided out after MVHS served out-of-bounds, and Esteban continued to serve, with the run ending at 8-4 with a failed double block from Kristic and Daveynis. MV’s response to a graceful tip from Daveynis was met with a strong spike from Kristic, helping DV expand to a two-point lead. Slow defense from MV gave DV their next point and a violation got DV to 11-7. MVHS briefly got the ball after an out-of-bounds serve, and scored again when the ball bounced off the net, past the antennae. MVHS continued to catch up after their serve fell through an attempted bump, getting to 12-11. 

A slow tip from Kristic threw MVHS off and helped get DV back to their two-point lead, then Kristic’s explosive spike got them to 15-12. MVHS began to catch up after an out-of-bounds serve and netted block from Kristic, and they tied at 15-15 after messy passing from DV. MVHS got to a two-point lead at 18-16, but a strong spike from Tetik helped DV catch up with 18 points each. DV scored when a spike from Tetik made it past a block, but a DV touch let the MVHS take the lead at 20-19. A long rally ended with a backwards response to Esteban’s spike, giving Dougherty the lead at 21-20, where the game paused for a time out. 

A block from Esteban brought DV to a two-point lead, which shifted the game’s momentum letting them score twice in a row. Tetik set the ball out-of-bounds at 24-20, giving MVHS the serve on what could be the winning point. A MVHS violation won Dougherty the game, ending the game 25-21 and giving Dougherty a 3-0 win. 

Tetik attributed the day’s success to the team’s spirit, explaining “We wanted to win because we knew we can”.