By Andrew Georgy
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) (14-9 overall, 0-8 league) varsity girls volleyball team lost against Los Alamitos High School (LAHS) (21-5, 8-0 league) Griffins 3-0 for the second time this season. The hard-fought loss saw the Barons lose three tightly contested sets 16-25 twice and 14-25 in their last set. FV has now gone 1-4 since their previous four-game winning streak.
Key players included sophomore and outside hitter Ila Robinson, providing kills and tips near the net, junior and middle hitter Genevie Do with energetic play and bumps and sophomore and setter Chloe Hoang by setting up her teammates for kills.
The Barons had a difficult start, as missed bumps and a hit into the net put the Griffins up. FVHS cut the lead as the ball was hit out of the court by the Griffins’ server a few times, with Robinson launching serves that the Griffins couldn’t respond to.
The Lady Barons capitalized on multiple whiffs of the net by Los Alamitos, eating up the Griffins’ lead bit by bit. An excellent ball play from off the ground by Hoang gave them another boost throughout the set. Junior Sofia Nguyen and senior Chloe Beal saved the ball to continue the team’s effort, but it was met by the LAHS’s solid defense to gain the Griffins a few extra points.
Common fakeouts and double blocking proved troublesome for the Barons, and the Barons would lose the first set 16-25 despite multiple substitutions by FVHS.
After the three-minute intermission, the Barons regained serve with Robinson serving to the straight middle and the Griffins responding with a swift lift that saw the Barons tumble to equalize. The Barons and Griffins went head-to-head at the beginning of the set, outdoing each other with excellent saves; however, Los Alamitos kept their narrow lead, which grew further with more blocks and hard-hit kills. Eventually, the Griffins overpowered the Lady Barons, losing the set 16-25 after a tip.
The third set, despite having the biggest loss margin, showed the Baron’s biggest comeback of the game as FVHS fought all the way back from 4-16 to a respectable 12-22. Hoang and Robinson continued to be a formidable duo, responding to each of Los Al’s points to make the score 14-24; however, the Barons ultimately lost after a kill from LAHS put the game to bed at 0-3.
Fountain Valley faces league rivals Huntington Beach away on Monday at 5:45 p.m.
