The Vixens, the girls’ varsity volleyball team, defeated Bronx High School of Science in two tightly played games, 25-22, 25-23, in a quarterfinal match played on Tuesday, November 13 at Hunter College.
The largest lead of the night was four points, taken by Stuyvesant at 14-10 in the first game after senior Diana Federova had a save followed up by a block by sophomore Alexandra Albright. Stuyvesant was not able to win the game until senior Vanessa Charubhumi broke a 22-22 tie with two straight serving aces followed by a kill to secure the first game for the Vixens. “Our defense was really lacking in our first game,” senior Lauren Gonzalez said.
Both teams traded points, as well as serving errors, during the second game as the lead was never larger than two points for either team. There were 15 lead changes in total for both games. The last one, however, clinched a semifinal berth for the Vixens as Stuyvesant was able to tie the game at 23-23 following another block by Albright. Charubhumi, who had five total service points, was able to serve the game out to ensure the win.
“That was scary,” senior and co-captain Laura Genes said. “And as scary as it was, it made the payoff greater. It also means that we cannot play at the level we played today in the semifinals.”
Vixens’ coach Phil Fisher gave much credit to Bronx Science for keeping the game tight. “They refused to quit. [Bronx] Science had nothing to lose and they played that way,” Fisher said.
Stuvesant, undefeated this season and seeded fourth in the playoffs, will face top-seeded the Patriots of Francis Lewis High School in the semifinals on Thursday, November 15. The Patriots are 8-0 in the regular season and defeated Curtis in two games, 25-14, 25-10n in their semifinal on Tuesday also. One of the main threats posed from Francis Lewis is their middle hitter, sophomore Alicja Pawelec, who has 29 aces, 62 service points and 78 kills through Tuesday’s semifinals.
“We need to serve clean and play smart,” Fisher said. “We have yet to play our best volleyball. Maybe that will happen on Thursday.”