The aces were aplenty for the Amundsen Vikings girls volleyball team against their rival Kelvyn Park Panthers.
The Vikings (3-3) defeated the Panthers 2-0 (25-7, 25-14) Friday at Amundsen. The Vikings racked up nine aces in game 1, including four by junior Shannel Rodriguez to help Amundsen jump to a 6-0 lead right off the bat. And when they didn’t score via the ace, the Vikings seemed to know exactly where to hit the ball and would go on an 8-0 run capped off by an ace from senior Lynette Reyes to give the Vikings a 22-5 lead before securing the 25-7 victory.
“We all got that memo of that middle spot that we had to tip to or hit to,” said Reyes. “We just kept doing it. It was like everybody told each other in our minds to go get that spot.”
“We call that spot ‘home’,” said senior Lilia Escobar. “Once we see it, we keep telling ourselves to hit it there. Once we see one person hit it there, we all do.”
The Panthers tightened the gap in game 2, and came as close to within three points of the Vikings, but Escobar notched two kills (including one from back court) to give Amundsen a 12-8 lead; and they would only build that lead from there.
“We’ve been working on (back court kills) alot,” Escobar said. “And it showed today in the game.”
Reyes finished game 1 with three kills and an ace, and was proud to finally beat the Panthers team that seemed unbeatable in the past.
“I was ready for that competition,” Reyes said. “It was awesome. Finally getting Kelvyn Park’s name off of our list of teams we can’t beat. I’m so glad we finally got to play them and actually beat them.”
Hi, you kind of mixed up me & Lilia when we were speaking. Also in the other article as well I’m the returning senior captain with Shannel Rodriguez
but thank you for recognizing my team & I accomplishments.