The Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls volleyball team was severely challenged with a match against Bishop Garcia Diego High School (Bishop Diego) on the evening of Sept. 25, 2024, at the Cardinals home court. The Dragons struggled to defend against the Cardinals’ strong offense, leaving the Dragons defeated by Bishop Diego 0-3.
Foothill Tech started off the game strong as they were able to clutch the first point of the first set. They kept the set close at 6-6 before the Cardinals took back their territory. Bishop Diego pushed back with seven aces against the Dragons to bring the set to 7-13 before Foothill Tech was able to side out. Foothill Tech continued to show strength with Channing McClure ’25 and Fiona Holt ’28 hitting two back-to-back kills to save the Cardinals’ game point. With the score at 19-24, Bishop Diego closed out the first set 19-25.
Holt shined through the match with three aces, two kills and multiple blocks. When asked how the team did collectively Holt replied, “I feel like the energy was not as hype as usual … we made good hustle plays though and we got some pretty good serves in.”
Bishop Diego quickly made a mark on the second set, leading Foothill Tech to call a timeout with the score at 1-10. The Dragons did not let this tear them down, as they came back with an ace from Holt, and two back-to-back aces from Emily Turner ’26 to bring the set to 8-15.
Although the Dragons upheld a battle with multiple digs from Turner and a setters’ dump by Morgan Houston ’25, the Dragons were still behind at 12-17. McClure came back at game point once again with a kill that followed with a block leaving the score 17-24. In the end, Bishop pushed back, winning the set 17-25.
Entering into the third set, the Dragons secured the first point as McClure showed her dominance at the net with a block to earn the second point. The Cardinals kept fighting with the Dragons and took the lead before Samantha Jacobson ’26 aced to bring the Dragons within striking distance. The energy and fight from the Dragons did not end here as Lilac Reyes ’26 gained Foothill Tech a kill which led Holt to an ace, bringing the set to 8-13. The Dragons kept their endurance up, but they could not secure the lead over the Cardinals. The third set ended 17-25, leaving the match in a 0-3 sweep by Bishop Diego.
Head Coach Adell Oliveras spoke on the match saying, “We’ve been working on a new defense so this was an opportunity for us to practice it … some people got to play more defense who normally don’t get to and I think they really shined … it was a higher paced game and to be honest I think we stepped it up.”
The Dragons hope to make a comeback at their next game against Villanova Preparatory School (Villanova) on Sept. 26, 2024, away at Villanova.
