After splitting the first two sets at crosstown rival San Marcos, the Dos Pueblos girls volleyball team seemed to lose its spark during the third at an oven-like Thunderhut on Tuesday.
The Chargers gave up nine straight points and fell behind 17-9. They regrouped and surged back before falling 25-23.
While the comeback fell short, the push at the end reenergized the Chargers and propelled them past the Royals in five sets for the second time this season. The scores of the Channel League match were 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-11.
The victory raised DP’s record to 6-2 in league play while San Marcos fell to 3-5.
Dos Pueblos coach Megan O’Carroll likes the energy and camaraderie her team brings to the court. But it got away during the third set.
“We had a huge drop in play and you could probably see the energy was totally gone from our core,” she explained. “We looked like a completely different team. I called timeout and I said, ‘Hey, I don’t like this look for us. I don’t care about the volleyball stuff. This is the one thing that I want us to fix: being positive, being encouraging and being good teammates.’
“They came out and they flipped the switch and we almost got that set.”
Jayden Jones was a key player during the comeback.
“We just kind of worked together, and we were super hyped,” she said. “Once one point started, we all started hyping each other up on every play, every scramble, every dig. It was really fun.”
The Chargers took charge in the fourth set. A pair of back-row kills from Jones sandwiched a combination block from Addie Low and Halle Rillie to open up an 8-2 lead. Later, Lia Papador scored on a sideout followed by a service ace during a 7-0 run for a 21-11 advantage.
In the fifth set, Low broke a 2-2 tie with a block and Rillie followed with a pair of aces, helping the Chargers go up 8-4.
But San Marcos fought back. Elena Thomas delivered a pair of kills from the left side and Grace Stone scored down the line to make it a 9-8 game.
Jones sided out on a middle attack for DP before the Royals scored three straight points, capped by a block from Samantha Fallon, to take an 11-10 lead.
Jones deflated San Marcos’ momentum balloon with a hit that rolled off the tape for the tying point.
“I saw the ball hit the net and I was like, ‘Oh no, it’s not carrying over.’ And then it trickled over the block and everyone on the other side just stared at it, watching it go down. That made me really excited.”
San Marcos never sided out for the rest of the set. DP took advantage of Royals’ hitting errors and bad passes on Jones’ serve to score the final four points for the victory.
“We keep saying we’re young, and we are, but our consistency isn’t where it needs to be,” said San Marcos coach Dwayne Hauschild. “It’s like you’re not going to win games if you can’t be consistent. We’re right there. We’re winning games with power, we’re winning games with effort and it’s great. But when it comes down to crunch time, it’s really down to consistency. And we’re not there yet.”
Jones is providing consistent play and boundless energy for Dos Pueblos. Standing 5-foot-3, the dynamo put balls away from all over the court and led the team in kills with 15. She also picked up 13 digs, several of them while diving on the floor.
“I’ve been a libero for about five years (in club), but playing beach volleyball definitely helped with my game,” said Jones. “I really wanted this position. I worked hard over the summer, doing lessons with my dad to earn this spot, and I feel really good that I did it.”
Jones is a huge difference maker for the Chargers.
“We were watching film from the last time we played (San Marcos) and as soon as we turned it on, her first comment was, ‘Oh, I’m short,’ said coach O’Carroll with a smile.
“And I don’t think that stuff has ever registered in her mind because she doesn’t play like that. The word that I would use to describe her is fearless. She’s out there, she knows she can do it, she’s not afraid to take a big swing, she’s not afraid to dive for a ball, she’s not afraid to go up and block somebody who’s possibly a foot taller. And it’s really energizing for the team to have somebody that plays so loose and fearlessly.
“It’s really contagious, and I think that was a big factor tonight. She kept giving us that spark so that our fire never went out.”
Sonia Mancuso, Papador and libero Atasha Black played inspired back-row defense for the Chargers, combining for 41 digs. Mancuso and Papador each had 14 and Black 13.
At the net, Low put away 10 kills out of the middle, while Mancuso had eight and seven, respectively, from the outside and back row.
San Marcos was led by Thomas with 13 kills, Kaylin Cooney added 11 and middle Cora Loomer had 10. Libero Katie Kracke scooped 23 digs to lead the defense.