The Volcano Vista High School volleyball team had a major test Tuesday night. While the Hawks didn’t get a win, head coach Ashley Kelsey gave her team a passing grade for its performance against No. 1 La Cueva.
“You know, I’m really proud of the way that we played,” Kelsey said. “Our entire goal was to be 1% better than we were when we played La Cueva, and I would say we absolutely achieved that goal.”
Volcano Vista head coach Ashley Kelsey looks on during the Hawks’ match against La Cueva.
The Hawks played La Cueva, the defending state champions, in the Metro Championships on Sept. 3 and lost 25-13, 25-12, 25-15. Volcano Vista also lost in three sets Tuesday in the rematch at VVHS, but it was a different story this time.
The Hawks opened the first set with a flourish and led 15-10 before undefeated La Cueva pulled away for a 25-22 win. The Hawks trailed 14-11 in the second before an unforced error led to another Bears run and a 25-15 set win. The Hawks trailed by seven points but cut the deficit to 22-19 in an attempt to stay alive, but the Bears were able to close out the set at 25-20 and complete the sweep.
Kelsey isn’t one to celebrate a moral victory, but she was proud of how her team competed against an 11-0 La Cueva team that has lost just three sets all season and hasn’t lost a match since Sept. 11, 2021.
“In my book, we did a lot better,” Kelsey said. “And I think moving forward, we have a lot more to look forward to.”
Kelsey hopes the encouraging performance against La Cueva can lead to bigger and better things as the season goes on.
“We’re still kind of finding our full rotation and our best kind of lineup to go out there,” Kelsey said. “We’re still kind of shifting some pieces around, and I think once we lock it in, I think that’ll be our missing piece. I definitely think we have hopes and we have aspirations to get to the postseason. I feel like if we go in there, with a little bit of chip on our shoulder going into district, I think that’s a very probable thing that we can do.
