On the night of Sept. 11, 2025, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls volleyball team entered the Cabrillo Middle School gym for their first home league match of the season. Facing off against Laguna Blanca School (Laguna Blanca), the Dragons fell two points short in the first set. They picked up momentum throughout the second set, and the Dragons proved that they wouldn’t go down without a fight. Despite their efforts, the dragons fell short, losing the game in four sets.
Foothill Tech started the first set off with Emily Turner ‘26 as their server. Laguna Blanca, however, scored the first point of the game. Throughout the game, both teams had multiple kills and blocks that kept the play exciting and alive. After a timeout by the Dragons with the score at 15-19, it was clear the Dragons needed to keep fighting. Libero Rylie Hannah ‘26 collected multiple crucial digs to help her team close the gap. Samantha Jacobson ‘26 served, and the score was 22-23. The Dragons just fell short after a kill and an ace by Laguna, which closed the first set with a 23-25 loss for the Dragons.
There was a rough start to the second set as Laguna Blanca scored six points in a row to take the early lead. Despite this, the Dragons fought back with important blocks and a kill from Fiona Holt ‘28, taking the score to 6-7. The Dragons proved their strength at the net with multiple blocks and started to slowly inch closer to a second-set victory. Janelle Nelsen ‘28 won a joust at the net that ended the second set, a come-back 25-22 victory for the Dragons.
Lilac Reyes ‘26 stated, “I think … we had really good energy. I saw a lot of people smiling on the court.”
As the Dragons came off the second set win, it was crucial for them to keep the energy going. The third set had a pretty steady start with the score at 2-3; however, with multiple mistakes by the Dragons, Lagana Blanca slowly began to take a comfortable lead. Eventually, the score was brought to 8-14. With strong hits from Laguna Blanca, Foothill Tech’s defense struggled to keep up. The Dragons lost the third set 14-25.
Laguna Blanca served, and both teams applied a steady start to the set. Laguna Blanca started to climb to the lead, creating a heavy gap at 5-12. Maya Adams ‘28 launched a comeback with two over-pass kills, and along with other crucial plays, Foothill Tech was able to bring the score to a close 20-20. The Dragons called their last timeout, eager to win the set. However, with a final kill by Laguna Blanca, the Dragons fell short with a score of 23-25 to end the game.
After the game, Coach Adell Oliveras said, “It went pretty well. I mean, I know we came away with a loss, but the fact that we took one set off of them, we came back this last one … I feel very confident because they’re one of the stronger teams in our league and this is going to be a really good season.”
