The Jets girls’ varsity volleyball team opened their season with a matchup against local rival Daegu Middle High School (DMHS) at the Jetnasium on Sept 16. Unlike last year, when both junior varsity (JV) and varsity squads took the court, this year’s competition featured only the varsity team due to the shortage of players on the Warriors’ lineup. With a game score of 2:3, DIS showcased huge improvements since last year’s straight-set defeat.
The game flared off in no time. Starters Minori Kojima (9), Yul Sakong (42), Leewen Wang (1), Victoria Kang (10), Sally Lee (21), and Luisa Silva (26) kept pace with DMHS throughout the first set.
Silva fired multiple kills that energized the team and helped them stay neck-and-neck with the Warriors. However, in the final stretch, a series of serve receive errors cost the Jets their momentum (23:25).
“The set ended with me getting aced five times in a row by the opponent. I never got aced that much, so I was surprised by myself. I knew that it was a chance to learn, so I just accepted it, said freshman outside hitter Sakong (42).
In the second set, Coach Jolly subbed in bench alternates to spark new energy. Though the rotation shifts gave more athletes playing time, they struggled to find rhythm. Serve receive errors disrupted their on-court communication, allowing the Warriors to pull ahead early (17:25).
Facing a do-or-die third set, most of the starters returned with determination. Sakong delivered powerful spikes and backrow attacks that penetrated through the opponent’s defense. Kang added pressure with multiple serve aces that forced multiple overpasses, which middle blocker Juyeon Kim (43) quickly converted into kills at the net. At the same time, libero Lily Lee (4) also stepped up defensively, digging several hard-driven balls that kept long rallies alive.
As the set tightened, Kojima (9) consistently challenged DMHS with deep corner shots and kept them scrambling. With that, the squad clinched their first set victory over the Warriors (28:26).
“I think we were really consistent throughout the set, although we made some serve mistakes. I was able to send good sets to Minori and Yul, and also backrow sets to Victoria, which they spiked really well,” said varsity setter Wang (1).
The Warriors opened the fourth set with a strong lead, and DIS faced a tough challenge to regain control. However, Sakong scored 14 consecutive jump float serve aces, breaking DMHS’s rhythm. Alongside Sakong, Kojima (9) executed a series of sharp cross-court kills at the net. Ultimately, the girls finished the set 25:22, tying the match 2:2.
“I wasn’t looking at the points at first and didn’t realize we were chasing them by just a tiny point. I was so happy when I heard that my serves led to that catch-up,” said Sakong.
In the best-of-15 final set, the Warriors maintained their consistency throughout the back-and-forth rallies, while the Jets struggled to carry on their momentum in back-row attacks and defensive rotations. DMHS shut down the set 10:15, winning the match 3:2.
Although DIS fell short, they walked away with renewed determination for future tournaments. “We tend to fall in the beginning and do better at the end, and the fact that this set was shorter messed up a little. Some of us were thinking about the mistakes we made beforehand, which caused some issues. Overall, I’m really proud of how our team played, and I hope we can win our next game,” varsity captain Kojima (9) said.
The Warriors also acknowledged the Jets’ resilience and credited their powerful plays. “DIS had some really good servers and strong hitters, and that was hard to fight against. I think 42 [Yul Sakong] was the best player. She had good serves and spikes,” said Mila Buettner, varsity middle blocker of the Warriors.
DIS heads into the re-match at the base on Tuesday, Oct. 21 with high hopes to perform at their best. With both squads eager for redemption, the matchup promises another hard-fought battle on the court.
