Alameda’s Queens of the Island tournament continued Friday, October 17, as the St. Joseph Notre Dame Pilots (22-5) hosted the Encinal Jets (9-12) at Kelly Gymnasium. The Pilots soared to victory, beating the Jets in three-straight sets with scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-9.
Photo by Gabriel Caraballo.
The first set started with an early 4-3 Jets lead. However, Encinal errors and pressure from the Pilots quickly put the home team up 11-4. A key contributor during the eight-point run was Pilot sophomore Amelia Mnich, who served up a couple of aces during the stretch.
After trailing substantially, Encinal did shorten the deficit to five points at 12-7, with key plays from juniors Ninjin Bayasgalan and Kai Gordon. Despite Encinal closing the gap, the Pilots went on another eight point run and shortly captured the set 25-17.
“We fixed the serve receive, that was the biggest issue…and had some decent attack and defense,” said Pilots head coach Sam Howard.
In the second set, the most competitive of the game, the Jets started by taking off to an early 8-3 lead, during which Encinal won the longest rally of the night. The Jets seemingly had all the momentum going forward, but St. Joe’s kept themselves at arm’s length. The Pilots briefly tied the set at 15-15, but Encinal quickly scraped away. The Jets outscored the Pilots 6-2, with three momentous spikes coming from Kai Gordon. However, at 21-17 the Pilots called a timeout that changed course. During the timeout, St. Joe’s positioned Amelia Mnich to win the set.
Photo by Gabriel Caraballo.
“Amelia’s always a huge component in terms of sighting out,” said Howard. “I think we just fixed the sets in certain scramble areas giving her more options.”
In the final stretch, St. Joe’s outscored the Jets 8-2, completed an exhilarating comeback and stole the set win 25-23. Amelia Mnich accounted for five of those points and the set-winning spike.
The third and final set of the game was dominated by the Pilots. St. Joe’s had all the momentum going in and jumped out to an early 11-4 lead. The Pilots did not look back as they outscored the Jets 14-5, flew to a 25-9 third set win and ultimately won the game.
“This win feels great… I’m mostly happy for the girls, and glad everyone got to see it,” said Howard.
The current standings for the Queen of the Island Tournament are: Alameda High 1-0, St. Joe’s 1-1, and Encinal 0-1. After the win against Encinal, St. Joe’s regular season came to a close. However, Alameda High will host Encinal on Friday, October 24, at 5:45 P.M. to close out their regular seasons and the tournament.