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Sydney Marks ’24 landing from a hit.
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Team celebration after a point.
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Olivia Patton ’26 winding up for a hit.
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Kate Lenhart 28′ takes a swing.
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The team celebrating a point.
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Even the ref dressed up for Academy Charger’s “pink out”.
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Emma Eden ’24 lining up to take a big hit.
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Team gets in defense position.
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Olivia Patton ’26 taking a swing.
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Ball drops in exciting point.
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Sydney Marks 24′ reaching for the ball.
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The bench giving a cheer.
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Kiara Brown ’28 still in the air from a swing.
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Emma Eden ’24 delivers a spike.
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Olivia Patton 26′ getting low to pass.
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Rowan Jaime ’28 sets up a ball.
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Vela Fine ’24 getting ready to pass the ball.
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Emma Eden ’24 and Adalyn Villa 27′ putting up a block.
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Sadie Jorgensen ’27 sets the ball up.
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Emma Eden ’24 serving the ball.
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Sydney Marks 24′ passing a ball.
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Adalyn Villa ’27 tips the ball over the block.
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In their penultimate home game of the regular season on October 26, the Academy girls volleyball team easily defeated their district rivals Valley with a staggering straight set win.
The Chargers were either well in control or neck and neck with the Vikings in every set, winning 25-16, 25-17, and 25-22.
The girls would extend their winning streak to six games to improve to 11-9 overall on the season, bouncing back from their shaky 3-9 start. They have shined all year long against district teams, undefeated with a 5-0 record and ranked first in 4A District 6.
From the opening serve, the Chargers showed they were the better squad.
With a series of vicious spikes, tough digs, and hustle-plays, the Chargers jumped out to a comfortable 6-1 lead in the opening set – and they never looked back. The team, which didn’t trail the entire set, kept chipping away and would easily take the first set 25-16.
In the second set, the squad kept their momentum, grabbing an early lead and holding on the remainder of the set. The Chargers continued to play aggressively and showed their skills as a cohesive unit as they took the second set 25-17.
The Vikings, however, fought back early on in the third set, preventing the Chargers from running away with the game. The Vikings were always two points ahead of the Chargers and even extended their lead to five points (17-12) late in the set. Nevertheless, the Chargers battled hard, showcasing some tremendous spikes, and would end the game strong, going on a 13-5 run and winning the final set 25-22.
Academy’s outside hitter, Emma Eden ‘24, controlled the game with her offensive prowess as she vigorously spiked and carefully placed the ball on Valley’s side of the court. Eden was consistent on her spikes, converting about 97% of her shots. Eden drove the Academy offense as she led the team with 11 kills and 15 service aces.
Opposite hitters Rowan Jaime ‘28 and Sadie Jorgensen ‘27 also contributed to Academy’s offensive success, combining for 14 of the team’s 17 assists.
Libero Ruby Winham ‘27 made a huge impact on defense for the Chargers. She led the team with 10 digs, and also had 14 service aces.
As teams, both the Chargers and Vikings dominated certain categories, but there was one statistic that allowed Academy to be the top team: lack of errors. The Vikings, as a team, made 75 total errors, while the Chargers only made 18, proving to be the more consistent crew.
“Going into the game, our strategy was to just play hard and play together,” said first-year varsity head coach, Michael Smith, after the game. “We [the coaches] wanted to see that cohesive unit of six on the floor and eight on the sideline working hard together, and I think they did a great job with that.”
Smith also mentioned what he thinks his team’s strengths have been throughout the whole season.
“I just love the way that they battle every day. At an academic school like this, it’s so difficult to add in something like this [volleyball] and play at a high level. Overall, they’ve done a great job showing up every day and making sure they are doing their best, which is a main cause of our success in district.
Finally, Eden spoke about what she thought the team did well in addition to what makes Academy a special and interesting team.
“I thought we did a good job maintaining high levels of energy, especially in the third set. We would stay focused the whole game and communicate with each other, which is good. I find it interesting that we have a bunch of young players, especially since we have three 8th graders, who make a big impact. I think other teams can underestimate our abilities.”
The powerful Chargers would continue to play good volleyball as they would take down both the Hope Christian Huskies and Del Norte Knights in straight sets last week. With a win over the latter, the Chargers became the 4A District State Champions, improving to an astounding 7-0 against 4A teams as well as extending their winning streak to eight games.
Their final regular season game is November 7 at Bernalillo where they are looking to end their season on a strong note.
Go Chargers!
