The Sunny Hills girls volleyball team kicked off the final week of the Freeway League play with a dominating 3-0 victory over Fullerton High School.
“Because we had a rough [first] game with Fullerton, [we wanted] to play even harder and because it was senior night, everyone wanted to win,” outside hitter and right side hitter senior Kayla Cho said.
Even though this game didn’t solidify their chances of getting into the CIF tournament, head Coach Amanda Donalson was proud of her girls for their win.
“We went to five [sets] last time with Fullerton so I think we took charge with this game more,” Donaldson said.
Before the game, the seniors walked down an aisle of their teammates while an audio recording of the girls thanking their team and family for the memories they shared together played behind them.
“I feel like [I am still] an underclassman cheering for other seniors today,” middle blocker senior Yea-Jin Lee said. “It feels weird to be a senior and be over with everything.”
After this, the game began and the first set ended 25-15, middle blocker senior Marlena Martinez tipping the ball over the net to score the final point.
The second set with Fullerton scoring first, and Cho tipped the ball to score Sunny Hills’ first point of the set.
“I’m glad that I could start it off for the team, but it’s a big responsibility too because it’s really easy to set to where I am,” she said.
The Lancers finished the set 25-20 after a Fullerton player touched the net, giving Sunny Hills its final point.
The third set started with a Fullerton serve that sailed past the SH end line, giving Sunny Hills their first point.
To finish the game, setter and right side hitter junior Madison Rumenap tapped the ball over the net to earn the final point of the set and end the game at 25-15, 25-20 and 25-14.
“Scoring the winning point was exciting because my team worked so hard this whole game. To win it in three [sets] was huge,” Rumenap said.
The girls also swept Troy with final scores of 25-20, 25-22 Wednesday. This win solidified their place in the CIF tournament.
“This week was very clutch and I’m proud of the team,” Donaldson said. “The goal for the rest of the season is [to not stop because] lot of teams feel that their job is done once they make it to CIF, but in reality, this is just the beginning.”
