The first set made it clear that the match would be a true battle, with both teams staying neck and neck until NCDS pulled ahead with a service run. KO’s defense eventually revved up, with Kata Mesterhazy ‘23 making some key early blocks to energize the team, and with Allie Arcaro ‘24 making much-needed digs on deep hits from the opponent. Arcaro then followed her defensive work with a service run that brought the Wyverns back into striking distance. After KO lost some morale in some longer points in the middle of the set, Lindsay Bailey ‘22 stepped on the court and the tides changed. Bailey was tipping, smashing down balls, blocking, and making aggressive net plays in the middle, and everyone in the gym felt the positive energy! Later in the set, Ava Cashman ‘24 served low and fast to put KO in winning distance, and co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 kept up relentless hitting and pushing deep into the opponent’s court. It was a nail-biter extra point set, and the Wyverns showed their mental fortitude throughout. Unfortunately, we were unable to put together enough consecutive points and NCDS took the set 28-26. In the second set, KO’s offense kept running with effective setting from co-captain Mackenzie Caruso ‘22 and Jill Plaut ‘23 alternating to set up Sullivan for powerful outside hits. Cashman continued her strong low serving and provided high passes on defense. In another neck and neck battle, NCDS used solid, consistent defense to pull away at the end of the set to win it 25-20. In the final set, Naomi Wong ‘22 provided powerful hitting from the right side to add variety to the KO offense, and Sullivan changed her hitting locations to include more down-the-line strikes. Bailey was on fire with tips to the sides and diving saves to keep us in the points defensively. After a long set, and a long and incredible season, the Wyverns unfortunately lost the match and were knocked out of the postseason tournament.

With that said, there is so much for the team to be proud of this season! The hard work in practice, the battles against other schools, the extra-point sets, all of it was more than the team could have asked for, and the coaches and fans are ecstatic about the team’s great strides forward this season. We can’t wait to see what we accomplish next year!