Jake Iovine is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Glendale High School for AZPreps.365.com.

 

Despite being swept by Sierra Linda for the second time this season, Glendale girls volleyball head coach, Jennifer Runger, was full of positive takeaways following Thursday’s defeat. 

“This was one of our better matches,” Runger said after the game. “I was telling the girls that Sierra Linda is one of the better teams in the region. We played pretty well, and I was really happy about that.” 

Glendale fell to 0-6 in the 5A-Central Valley league after losing three straight sets (12-25, 18-25, 13-25) against Sierra Linda on Thursday, October 17, in Glendale’s home gym.

An improved second set was not enough for Runger’s side as the Bulldogs swept the Cardinals for the second time this season. 

The Cardinals showed strength early in the first set with both sides tied at 5-5. Sierra Linda finished the set on a 9-1 run and sealed the set victory with a kill from junior middle hitter Quinci Vega.

The Cardinals rebounded after the break and pushed to a 7-3 lead following five consecutive points. Sierra Linda responded after a handful of successful rallies, finally retaking the lead 17-16 from an error by Glendale. 

Holding leads has been a problem for Runger’s side this season. 

“We had the lead last Tuesday and lost it, then we had the lead for a bit longer tonight and lost,” Runger said. “The next step is to learn and to finish the set off.” 

Sierra Linda finished the second set on a 7-0 run, taking the momentum into the third set for a potential sweep. The Cardinals finished the second set with 18 points: their second-highest set tally in their previous three games. The improved performance can be seen by everyone in the team, including senior defensive specialist Mia Garcia. 

“We are improving with our passing,” Garcia said after the loss. “At the start of the season, our passing could’ve used some work but we definitely worked on it and Coach Runger had us do drills. It got way better throughout the season.” 

The Cardinals made it close again early in the third set, even taking the lead following a 4-0 run to make it 11-10. Sierra Linda’s quality in the final plays of the game proved too much for Glendale as the Bulldogs raced to a 15-1 run, claiming the victory.

The Cardinals are yet to taste victory with four games remaining.

Even with the defeats, the team remains positive with the recent improvements made. Senior setter Bianca Luevano thought Thursday’s game was one of the team’s best this season. 

“This was one of the highlights of the season, it was definitely fun,” Luevano said after the game. “We still need to improve our passing and get our sets to the net, but our hitting and setting was much better today.”