ROCS Volleyball Report
The River Oak Firebirds defeated the Laytonville Warriors on Monday, 2 sets to none. The first set was a lot of back and forth. The Firebirds finally got out to a lead when the score was 18-18, Varsity Gaches served 7 straight aces ending the set. Lola Pearson also had 2 aces and 3 digs that first set.
The second set was not as close. The Firebirds lost the first 2 points but then scored the next 8 points, Pearson had 3 aces in that span. River Oak delivered several tough serves and due to several mistakes by the Warriors, River Oak was able to win the set and the game 25-13.
River Oak had a total of 24 aces against the Warriors. When asked about the keys to being a good server; Adia Davis, who is averaging 3.1 aces per game said, “My habit is dragging my foot.” Lola Pearson, who had 12 aces said, “I get a good smack on the ball, just how I want to serve it.” Varsity Gaches, who had 8 aces said, “I think being really consistent helps.”
-Kaleo Olson
ROCS Volleyball Report
River Oak lost a close match on Tuesday, falling to the Eagle Peak Eagles, 2 sets to 1.
The Firebirds were in an early hole in the first set, with a score of 2-7, but they were able to crawl out of it, taking a 10-9 lead. The Eagles then went on a 15-5 run. With a score of 24-15, the Eagles looked pretty confident. Fortunately, River Oak got a side out and the ball, Adia Davis was able to score 2 aces, the Eagles made some mistakes, but the Firebirds wings’ were clipped. Eagle Peak won the set 25-20.
In the second set, River Oak came out motivated, and playing strong together. They had a 15-2 lead, but after a few errors, the Eagles eased back into the game. Coach Martinez called a time-out. Enabling the Firebirds to regain composure and win the set 25-15. The third set was competitive and stressful for spectators to watch. The Eagles looked like they were going to break away from the Firebirds and win, but River Oak played like a team and kept it close. At one point, the Eagles had a 13-8 lead, and Lola Pearson, who had 14 digs, delivered a huge block on the Eagle’s hitter that changed the momentum of the game. Pearson then scored 2 aces in a row and a hard serve that the Eagles struggled to return. The Firebirds then had a costly serve error that gave the Eagles a 14-12 lead. Next, with a well placed serve right inside the out of bounds line, the Eagles won.
When asked if there was a slim mistake that was made, Varsity Gaches, who had a season high 8 kills and 5 aces said that, “The ball was hitting the roof a lot which made us lose a few points and we were getting too excited and just needed to calm down.” Coach Martinez said “The girls played hard, they played well, you know a few serves that we missed would have made the difference. This was probably one of those games when we were right there and we just missed by a small margin.”
~Kaleo Olson
River Oak Charter School
Email: kmccullough@riveroakcharterschool.org
Website: www.riveroakcharterschool.org
Location: 555 Leslie Street, Ukiah, CA, USA
Phone: 7074671855
Facebook: www.facebook.com/riveroakcharter