Volleyball defeats Gresham 2-1 with strong offense

Posted April 2021

By Isabelle Donahue

Staff Editor

Strong offense earned the varsity volleyball team a 2-1 victory over Gresham, 25-19, 32-30, 20-25, at home on March 18.

“It was awesome to see athletes compete again and the joy on their faces,” said athletic director Eric Stauffer. “All protocols went well. A ton of preparation has gone into making sure everyone stays safe and healthy. A huge shout out to the David Douglas High School custodial staff for all their work in sanitizing. They are an amazing group of people. Currently, we still have no plans to allow spectators at contests. This will be reevaluated as the season progresses and risk levels decline at the administrative level.”

The first set of the match began with an early point by Gresham, making the start of the game 0-1. Douglas’s first point was caused by a net-hit from Gresham, putting the Scots on the board, 1-2. Junior Alex Mann scored Douglas’s second point, tying the game 2-2. Then two back-to-back net-hits from Gresham placed Douglas in the lead, 4-2, followed by an out-of-bounds hit from Gresham that placed Douglas in a 3-point lead, 5-2. A spike by Gresham followed by a Douglas net-hit caused the Gophers to gain 2 points, resulting in a 1-point lead, 5-4. Another strong offensive play from Mann led Douglas to earn a point, 6-4. Then a spike by junior Tori Somsanith earned the Scots another point. Two strong Gresham offensive plays resulted in Douglas having only a 1-point lead, 7-6, and a Douglas net-hit tied the game, 7-7. After Gresham pulled ahead with a spike, Douglas called a time-out. Then a Gresham ace put the Gophers ahead 2 points, 7-9. This was quickly followed by a miscalculation on Gresham’s behalf, leading to a Douglas point. Sophomore Ava Piper scored Douglas’s next point with a spike, shifting the score to 9-10. After back-and-forth scoring from both teams, two strikes from Mann helped Douglas take the lead, 13-12. An offensive play from Somsanith lead to the Scots securing a strong 16-12 lead. At this point, Gresham called a time-out. An ace by Mann led to Douglas reaching 20 points, Gresham 6 points behind, the score 20-14. Senior Felica Franco’s final serve secured the first set, 25-19, Douglas.

The second set began with an out-of-bounds point for Gresham, starting the set off 0-1. Douglas’s first point was scored by Mann, moving the Scots up, 1-2. Then the Gophers hit the ball out-of-bounds, tying the game, 2-2. After three consecutive Gresham points, the score 2-5, Douglas called a time-out. The Scots then earned a point after the Gophers hit the ball out-of-bounds. Then a strike by junior Brook Lee led to a net-hit by Grasham, earning Douglas another point, upping the score, 5-10. Four out-of-bound Gresham balls shifted the score to 9-10. After strong offensive points by both teams, a spike by Mann tied the game, 14-14. Both teams then earned a point after each hit the net, shifting the score to 15-15. A serve by senior Faith Goyee once again tied the game at 18, then a spike by junior Blanca Fox put Douglas ahead, 20-19. The set was once again tied, 21-21, after a spike by Gresham. The Gophers called a time-out after Mann tied the game, 23-23, with a spike. An out-of-bounds spike by Gresham allowed Douglas the first to 30 points, the score 30-29. The set finished, 32-30 Scots, after a spike by Mann.

A Gresham spike started the third set, 0-1. A Gresham player then touched the net, allowed Douglas to earn its first point, tying the game at 1. Then a quick 5-2 Gopher lead forced the Scots to call a time-out. A Gresham spike pushed the Gophers up 10 points, the score now 5-10. When another Gresham player touched the net, the score shifted, 10-14. After Gresham scored their seventeenth point, Douglas called another time-out. A spike by Somsanith put the score at 15-18. After a Mann spike, Gresham called a time-out, the score now 17-18. Another Mann spike upped the score to an 18-18 tie. When Gresham hit the net, Douglas earned its twentieth point, the score now 20-22. A Gresham spike was the last point, resulting in a 20-25 Gresham set, but a Douglas match win.

“This season's games are definitely different because of the COVID restrictions, but everything was planned well and ran very smoothly,” said coach Janeen Rainey. “The gym is thoroughly cleaned between each game (JV2, JV & varsity) and we socially distance and wear masks while in the gym. The hardest part has been not having spectators at our games. Because of COVID, the last time most of these girls played volleyball was during our 2019 season. I was impressed how well this group of girls worked together, stayed positive and competed during the match.”