Alameda’s Queens of the Island tournament came to a close on Friday, October 24, when the Alameda High School Hornets (14-11) beat the Encinal High School Jets (9-15) at Alameda High Gymnasium. The Hornets claimed victory in a dominant performance with set scores of 25-12, 25-18, 25-21. The Hornets thus were crowned 2025 Queens of the Island.
Photo by Gabriel Caraballo.
“We’re happy for the girls, they played their hearts out and came through,” said Hornets head coach Peter Ohno. “They’ve been wanting to do this for a while… Last year they beat us at their house, so this year was our turn.”
To start the game, the Hornets secured the first set victory against the Jets by a substantial margin. What started as a briefly contested set with both teams tied at 5-5, quickly turned in favor of the Hornets when they went up 13-5. Alameda High went on an eight-point run, fueled by a few momentous spikes from Hornet senior Sam Obot. With a safe lead, Alameda continued its impressive offense and defense by outscoring the Jets 12-7 and taking the first set 25-12.
When asked about their game plan for this matchup, Hornets assistant coach Monica Payumo said simply, “We play to win.”
“We practiced our sets last night,” Ohno added. “Everyone knows their jobs, we run the same offense with the same people, so it’s no big deal for them to step up.”
Although Alameda High captured the first set by a momentous margin, Encinal reversed course and took off to a brief 7-2 lead to begin the second set of action. Jets junior Kai Gordon accounted for several of Encinal’s points during that beginning stretch.
Despite the Jets’ lead, however, the Hornets were still buzzing, seeking an opportunity to strike. Alameda High would tie the game at 9-9 with consecutive spikes from senior Dahlia Reza. Then, shortly take the lead at 12-10 with back-to-back service aces from senior Bronwyn Brantley. The Hornets offensive surge gave them the momentum to comeback and take the set 25-18 after outscoring Encinal 13-8.
“Part of it was we gotta play our game, we play to win, and we knew at the end of the day we are the better team,” said Payumo on the Hornets second-set comeback.
The third and final set was the most competitive of the match. Alameda High and Encinal were neck-and-neck all the way through, as neither could muster up a comfortable lead until the end. The Jets were up at 15-14, but the Hornets started to break away. After a five-point run, the Hornets went up 19-15 and ultimately pushed their lead to 24-21. Then Bronwyn Brantley came in for the game-winning spike that won the Hornets the Island crown and brought both teams’ regular seasons to a close.
“Since the beginning of this season they’ve worked their butts off, they really deserve this win,” said Hornets assistant coach Monica Payumo.
Alameda High School ended its season with a 15-11 regular season record and Encinal High School ended its regular season with a 9-16 record. Both teams have playoff matches in the coming weeks.
Contributing writer Gabriel Caraballo covers local sports for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected https://alamedapost.com/Gabriel-Caraballo.