BULVERDE — Four FEAST volleyball teams rode into Bulverde on Monday, and all four left with victories over Bracken Christian School. Both middle school teams began the evening with three-set wins over the hosts before the high school crews rolled in for straight-set triumphs.
Although the FEAST archives are somewhat incomplete, nobody in the organization today can remember another time where the Patriots swept a four-game series. The opportunity typically comes against homeschool opposition, but the rare chance presented itself on Monday night.
The best match of the night was the first one, where the MS-B Team (5-12) rallied for an exciting three-set win. After confusion at the scorer’s table caused a long delay before match point, the Warriors missed the ensuing serve, and the Patriots won the set, 15-10.
The MS-A Team (17-6-1) followed the excitement with some of its own. Down a starter, the Patriots found themselves locked in a tight battle. They won the first set 25-21, but fell into a deep hole to begin Set Two.
Coach Laura Force called a timeout down 20-13, and that sparked a late Patriot run. FEAST chipped away at the lead and pulled within three, sparked by a magnificent hustle save by Chloe Hawkins. The run was solid, but not enough to overcome the deficit. The Warriors won the set, 25-21, to force a third.
The Patriots took command in the final set, building a substantial lead behind the strong serving of Ruthie Thompson and Emaleigh Force. Thompson tallied four aces to begin the set, and Force had a six-serve run to put the match on ice.
Hawkins finished the match with five aces and five kills while Ellarie Ellebracht delivered four aces and four kills.
The FEAST JV squad then hit the floor with the most impressive win of the evening, holding the opponent to just 19 points in both sets. Viviana Quiles served the first eight points of the match, including four aces, handing her team an edge it would never drop.
In the second set, it was “Grace Ace” James sniping the opponent. James delivered eight consecutive aces, spanning a timeout.
The Patriots (16-12-1) ended up victorious, 25-8, 25-11. Ana Clara Maik led the squad in kills.
That set the stage for the varsity to complete the sweep. The Patriots (35-3) jumped out to an early lead when senior setter Bekah Wilks set up Maddy Hanson on a seemingly routine right-side slide kill. On paper, it looked just like another fine play for FEAST, but the assist was Wilks’ 2000th in her career.
From there, the varsity rolled to wins in the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-17. They dug a bit of a hole for themselves in the third set before a hard chest-shot spike by Kate McCaslin gave them the necessary spark to rally and win the nightcap, 25-16.
Comments --