The middle school girls’ varsity volleyball team competed in the Korea International Schools Athletic Conference (KISAC) championship held at DIS and JV flew to Branksome Hall Asia (BHA) from Feb. 7 to Feb. 8. Despite the home-court advantage for varsity and a promising JV squad, both groups concluded the tournament with a hard-fought fourth place finish. 

Varsity started with a well-deserved win against BHA. Top performer and captain Yul Sakong (number 29) topped the Bears with strong kills that pierced through the defense. “We won our first game against BHA. It was our first actual tournament game and I think we played pretty well. I got to spike a lot,” Sakong said. They won their first and second sets as MVP Luisa Silva (number 26) solidified the victory with her final two service aces in a row. 

Revved up from the win, the Jets moved on to face the Busan Foreign School (BFS) Sharks. To their dismay, they lost their first set in a close call of 25:18. After a prompt recharge, the Jets gained momentum as middle blocker Minju Koo (number 99) served ace after ace to bring the second set home (25:10). “I think we were kind of depressed that we lost the first set. However, because of my serves, we could win our second set,” Koo said.

In addition, standout middle Silva suffered a thumb injury. “We lost her, we really needed her because of the defense. But that’s also was a big cause I think we lost the game because our defense was really weak after that,” Sakong said. Despite the aces, the Sharks bit back and won the final set with a small margin of 15:11. 

The next day, varsity competed against Fayston Preparatory School (FPS) as the first seed of their pool. The Jets rapidly claimed triumph with set scores of 25:11 and 25:6, even without the presence of the starters. After their glory, they met the Sharks for a rematch in the semifinals. But the Sharks snatched their tickets to the finale. 

Left with a third-place matchup against the Bears, the crew gathered for a final hurrah. BHA narrowly escaped the chase, taking the first set (25:19). The Jets quickly regained possession of the lead with set scores of 25:7 as Koo had another set of aces. “It was a really good game. Minju served aces  over 10 times. It was crazy,” Sakong said.

For the final round, both teams tensely braced for the bronze. Tension rose as points progressed to a deuce (17:15). Ultimately, the Bears dumped the ball deep into the DIS court, taking home the medals. “The last point was a tip. It was at the end of the court. A lot of people, including three in the first row went for it,” Sakong said. The Jets finished strong, but ended just off the podium. 

Meanwhile in Jeju, JV began the tourney against Saint Johnsbury Academy (SJA) Hilltoppers. The Jets won the intense first set (25:23); however, the Hilltoppers overtook them in the second (6:25). 

As JV entered the final set, they gained a head start as rookie sixth grader Olivia Park (number 5) overpowered their adversaries with 10 consecutive serve aces. “I think it was really beneficial because we got a lot of points from serves. If it wasn’t for that maybe we wouldn’t have gotten this many points,” Park said. 

The Hilltoppers, however, secured victory despite Park’s aces. “The second round everybody was so hyped up. So we couldn’t focus, so we lost. And in the third game, we were going to a pretty easy start but then we got some mistakes in.” middle blocker Tracy Kim (number 1) said. 

To finish off the first day, the Jets met BHA for their last round-robin game. The Bears quickly claimed victory as the Jets encountered communication errors and serve-receive mistakes. BHA boasted more experienced players. “When you [DIS] practice, if you work on receiving with your team and communicating, you will become better,” BHA captain, Lexi Kong said. 

After two crushing defeats, the Jets polished their skills in an extra practice session after hours. Even with the absence of Coach Purdy, fill-ins Mr. Jolly and Ms. Couture eagerly prepped the squad for the following rounds. 

On day two, the Jets ventured back, recharged for an early game against North London Collegiate School (NLCS). The teams bounced points back and forth as anxiety brewed. The energy soon shifted in DIS’s favor, nonetheless, as star setter Akari Kojima (number 9) led a serving streak against the Orcas. 

Yet, a bit too hyped up after the point streak, the Jets suffered due to serve-receive errors as the NLCS setter, Jio Kim, sent master top-spin serves over the net. While the Orcas snared both sets, the JV team gained invaluable experience from the fierce battle.

In the final round-robin, DIS clashed with the undefeated Korea International School Jeju (KISJ) Dragons. The Dragons made a clean sweep victory (25:13 and 25:12) as they served strong floaters across the court. 

Subsequently, the Jets went up against the Bears for a redemption knockout round. They secured momentum as both Olivia Park and Akari Kojima led with deep serves. After intense rallies, the lineup snatched a narrow victory in the third set after a competitive deuce (16:14).

However, JV fell short in the semis against KISJ, which left them in a rematch against the Orcas for third place. Heading into their fourth game in a single day, the Jets still found the energy to rev up the court. Unfortunately, the Orca’s ace setter led with consecutive service streaks once again, which resulted in a fourth place finish for DIS.

Both teams completed the conference just off the podium. The Jets gained experience that will help them continue to build fundamentals for the upcoming South Korea Association of International Schools (SKAIS) championships on Feb. 20. With proficiency gained and new insight of gameplay, they now aim for the SKAIS trophy.

Gallery • 10 Photos

Sophia Bae

Elly Song (number 11) gets underneath the ball as she receives the powerful serve. She delivers a smooth pass to the setter, keeping the play in motion.