On Wednesday, Oct. 6, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s varsity volleyball team set up for their ninth match of the season, a home game against the Monarch High School Knights. After the Eagles suffered a defeat of 3-0 against Spanish River High the previous day, Wednesday night’s game was an opportunity to bounce back in front of the home crowd.

Sitting at a 3-5 record for the season, the Eagles desperately sought to get back on track with only two matches remaining before the playoffs. Monarch also posed a difficult challenge to the Eagles, coming into the game with an 11-4 record.

After the 6:00 p.m. start, the Eagles jumped to an early lead. Even with the difference in records, they were the team who took the lead in the first set.

A solid defensive start saw the Eagles block several shots and gain a few points off of strikes by setter Jordan Robertson (4). These points built a quick 11-6 lead in the first set, a lead that the Eagles never gave up. The set ended 25-19, a strong display in the first round for the team.

The second set was a much closer contest, as Monarch was leading early but were eventually matched by the persistent MSD attackers. Setter Isabel Gonzalez (5) and middle hitter Giselle Hansen (6) both saved the Eagles from conceding points on several occasions with crucial saves.

Although a series of bad serves led to Monarch taking a sizable lead, the Eagles were able to rally back into the game. After a spike gave the Knights a 21-19 advantage, the Eagles scored five points straight, four of those being off of Robertson’s hits. MSD then claimed the second set by a score of 25-22, and took a commanding 2-0 lead overall, in pole position to sweep the best-of-five series from Monarch.

From that point forward, the Eagles could never maintain control over the game. In set three, Monarch held the lead throughout and punished all of the Eagles’ mistakes. The final score of the third set was 25-20, giving the Knights a lifeline back into the game at an overall score of 2-1.

The 4th set started similarly, although the Eagles pressed hard in an attempt to wrap the game up early.

“We tried to recover with better passes and smart plays, but we probably need to work on getting our passes up to the net to utilize all the hitters by the end of the season,” Hansen said.

The back and forth action of the fourth set led to a tied score of 20-20 until the Eagles created separation thanks to powerful shots from outside hitter Jillian Caroll (7) and Robertson once again. Eventually, MSD was just one point away from winning the entire match when the score was 24-20.

To the shock of the team and the Eagles’ fans in attendance, Monarch kept the Eagles from winning the fourth set in dramatic fashion and evened the score at 2-2, leading to a fifth set in overtime.

The Eagles were not able to recover from this disappointment and no longer had the stamina to keep up with Monarch’s team in the extra set. Set five ended at a score of 15-11 in favor of the Knights, an unexpected and devastating loss for the Eagles.

“A positive of the game was how the crowd supported us and I know we can bounce back because we have amazing players, regardless of the final score,” libero Stephanie Villar (15) said.

Wednesday’s loss leaves MSD with a record of 3-6. The Eagles’ hope to end the regular season with a win on Monday, Oct. 11, against South Plantation High School, their final match before district playoffs.