In three extremely close sets, varsity volleyball gracefully fell to their long-standing rivals, the Round Rock Dragons, in a 3-0 sweep during Hero Night on Friday, Sept. 12 in the field house gym. Numerous timeouts called by both teams set the tone for the game as each set remained close throughout its entirety. 

The first set started off rough, with the Warriors shanking the ball, giving the Dragons the first point of the evening. Going into this game, the Warriors knew they were the underdogs against the undefeated Dragons — so when the Warriors scored their first and second points with an out ball and a powerful block by right-side hitter and middle blocker Piper Evans ‘27, the players and crowd exploded with energy. Tied at two, the Warriors and Dragons played neck-and-neck. Keeping the point differential low, the score was often tied or within a few points difference between the two teams. Multiple shanked balls by both teams advanced the score on both sides. Breaking the trend of shanks, a nonconsecutive kill and sideset from Wellington brought the Warriors up 9-5 as they attempted to catch up to Round Rock. As the Warriors continued to fall behind, they called a timeout in an attempt to gain back confidence to end out the set. Right out of the timeout, the Warriors scored from an outball, closing the gap 13-9. Two back-to-back lengthy rallies led to points for the Dragons and Warriors respectively, reliant on Evans’ quick hits and libero Dakota Hodge ‘26’s crowd-hyping saves; with every spike across the net, both sides of the stadium were out of the seats as the volley was anyone’s ball. After a long rally resulting in an additional Dragon point,  the Warriors called a timeout at 20-14. Right out of the timeout, the Warriors returned with a powerful kill from middle hitter Grace McCluskey ‘26. With saves from Hodge and a kill from outside hitter Caroline Miller ‘28 — who would go on to be the kill leader of the game — tensions were high as the Warriors lagged behind 24-18. The final score was the result of a long rally. Although Hodge impressed with a shocking dig, the Dragons inevitably won the rally and first set 25-18.

“We told ourselves it was going to be a fun game going into a good defensive game,” setter Lila Wellington ‘27 said. “We know how we play, and I think it was going to be a good game either way. I don’t think we expected any outcome. We can always show up and play our game, see how it ends. We know that we can do it, and I think it’s just about executing that. That’s where the IQ and all of the knowledge goes aside, and it’s really just skill. We know that we have it, and we totally could’ve won that game. We know how to do it, we just didn’t execute.”

The second set marked a shift in the Warriors’ mindset, evident through their more refined strategy as they matched the Dragons’ playing style. Although the Dragons took the first point after a long rally, defensive specialist Claire Toupin ‘27 got two aces in a row, snatching the lead and bringing Westwood up 3-2. Following this, McCluskey scored two points — including a clever set to the back court after noticing the Dragons pushing heavy into their front court. After McCluskey’s two quick points, the Warriors managed to secure the largest lead over the Dragons thus far at 5-2. Tied at 12 after a few long rallies, the Dragons noticed a flaw in the Warriors’ strategy — they were struggling to cover the court in its entirety. Taking advantage of this, the Dragons propelled themselves forward in a 4-point lead of 18-14, forcing the Warriors to call a timeout. Changing tactics, McCluskey got a kill straight out of a timeout, immediately followed by another kill from outside and right-side hitter Sriya Chakravarthy ‘27. These back-to-back kills nearly closed the gap for the Warriors, now only trailing by one.  Following a dead ball from Round Rock, a timeout was called at 18-18 as the Dragons recognized the Warriors’ comeback. This didn’t shake the Warriors however, as  straight out of the timeout, Chakravarthy got her second kill of the game, taking the lead 19-18. McCluskey followed suit with two kills in a row, bringing the Warriors up 21-19. As the Warriors grasped the lead 22-19, the Dragons called a timeout as the stakes rose. Following this timeout, the Dragons scored two solid back-to-back points, once again tying the game 22-22.  This tie led to yet another timeout called — with such a close score near the end of the set, it was anyone’s game. Out of the timeout, setter Emily Xue ‘27 set to Chakravarthy who delivered a spike to the Dragons that they shanked, tying the score once again at 23-23. It seemed there was hope for the Warriors, but despite their perseverance and spirit, the Dragons won the second set with a kill, bringing them up 25-23.

“[Emily and I] are best friends,” Chakravarthy said. “We’ve played since [we were] 13 together. We usually book courts outside of school to just work on our connection. Knowing each other’s habits [and] knowing each other so well helps to work really well together.”

Going into the third set, the Warriors knew they had to emerge victorious from the set if they wanted a chance at winning the game. This ultimatum fueled their fire, with kills from McCluskey and Chakravarthy — who was quickly establishing herself as a key player — bringing the Warriors up 5-4, securing the lead once again. After the Dragons shanked a ball, Evans executed a block, tightening the score gap 14-13 as Westwood lagged only slightly behind. Team spirits high, a successful spike from Hodge finally bridged the gap, getting the Warriors up 14-14. Halfway through the set, both teams were neck and neck as they vied for the win — tensions were high, and the crowd knew it too. An ace from Toupin brought Westwood the lead 15-14, and as they scored again, a timeout was called at 16-14 as the Dragons began to feel intimidated. Despite the Dragons’ almost impenetrable strategy, the Warriors weren’t letting go of their lead. Following the timeout, a few more shanks and strategic plays from the Warriors widened their lead 19-15. The Dragons, annoyed at the Warriors grit, began to catch up, tightening the lead 21-20. After the Dragons hit an out ball, a timeout was called by Round Rock as the Warriors led 23-20. Coming out of the timeout, the Dragons scored the first point, and as they scored their second point, a timeout was called at 23-22; similar to the previous set, both teams were maximizing their timeouts to perfect their strategy in this close game. Out of the timeout, Miller’s serve hit the net, giving Round Rock another point to tie the game 23-23. After the Dragons got a kill, bringing them up 24-23, a timeout was called by the Warriors once again. With a score this close, it was uncertain who would emerge victorious. However, following the trend of their last two sets, the Dragons won the third set 25-23 and shut out the Warriors 3-0.

“We knew that Round Rock was going to be probably our hardest competition in District at all, and I’m extremely proud of how our team just played against them,” Hodge said. “I do think that they are beatable — the scores definitely show that they are. We had the lead multiple times, so I am glad that we had the lead at some point. I’m really glad that we kept our composure and didn’t just shut down.”

Returning for redemption, varsity volleyball will take to the home court against the Cedar Ridge Raiders at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, for Future Warrior Night.