On the evening of Sept. 12, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls volleyball team faced their cross-town rivals, St. Bonaventure High School (Bonnie) in their second league game of the year. The Dragons played at Bonnie’s home court and the game resulted in a 0-3 sweep by Bonnie.
Although the Dragons had energy coming into their first set, Bonnie quickly overpowered and took the lead 1-4. The Dragons struggled to find their rhythm on the court as Bonnie broke their energy, taking the set to 5-20. Foothill Tech did not give up as captain Morgan Houston ‘25 led her team with three consecutive serves to bring the set to 11-23. Unfortunately, the Dragons could not catch up, ending the set 11-25.
The Dragons hoped to come back stronger in the second set as they gathered to reimburse their energy and come up with strategies as a team.
Bonnie carried their energy gained from the first win into the second set taking the first three points before Foothill Tech was able to side out. This momentum from the Seraphs continued until the Dragons called a time-out at 4-12. Fiona Holt ‘28 came out serving two aces in a row that brought the Dragons from 8-18 to 11-18, after which the Seraphs gained control of the game again. The fight from the Dragons did not stop as they secured kills from Leilani Wallace ’28 and Emily Turner ‘26. Although they fought, the Dragons were not able to secure a leading spot, ending the set with a 15-25 loss.
With a 0-2 start to the match, the Dragons did not give up and knew they had to step up their game to compete with the Seraphs. Channing McClure ’25 secured the first point of the set with a kill.
Foothill kept the third set close, not letting Bonnie become too confident. The Dragons battled to 5-5 which followed with a setters’ dump from Houston. The Dragons took the lead 8-5 before the Seraphs called a time-out. Bonnie quickly came back after the timeout bringing the set to 8-10.
The fight from the Dragons continued as they earned point 10 with a block by Holt and a kill from Wallace to tie up the set 10-10.
The set was held close by the Dragons at 16-16 before the Seraphs broke away to a 17-20 lead. Bonnie’s momentum did not stop the Dragons, who brought the set to 21-21. Turner secured a kill for her team to boost them to 22-23 but neither team gave up, leaving game point for the Seraphs at 23-24. Bonnie was able to secure their last point to win the set 23-25 taking the game 0-3.
When asked about thoughts of improvement for the team, head coach Adell Oliveras replied, “We are on the brink of greatness … Every moment of hard work is about to come together, and I believe success is just around the corner.”
The girls next face-off is against Cate School (Cate) on Sept. 17, at Cate, where the Dragons are hoping to bring home a win.
