Sports Editor Samson Myshrall, ’21
Last Thursday, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls volleyball team hosted the FM Hornets for a pink-out game. The goal of the event was to raise money for breast cancer research as well as raise awareness. Everything, including the player’s uniforms, was changed from red to pink. Although not much went right for the Rams during the game, the crowd did not disappoint. JD’s side of the bleachers was packed with parents and students.
The Fayetteville-Manlius Hornets came out strong in the first set, taking a quick 6-1 lead, and later expanding that lead to 10-3 just minutes into the game. Then the Red Rams woke up. JD slowly clawed their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to just one, at 15-14. Jamesville-DeWitt eventually tied it up at 22-22, and went on to win the first set 25-23 after an impressive early comeback.
The second set was much more back and forth between the two teams, neither leading by more than a couple points throughout. Although the Red Rams managed to eke out a second set win, 25-23, they also saw the loss of their starting setter, Maris Ryan. Ryan went out late in the second set with a rolled ankle and was taken out of the game, unable to walk. It was evident that the injury completely changed the mood of the game, even with the Rams leading 2 sets to 0.
In the third and fourth sets, the Hornets were awakened, stingers and all. FM took a fast lead in the third and didn’t look back, winning the set 25-17. The fourth set was where the atmosphere of the game truly shifted. The Hornets jumped out to another fast lead with the Rams trailing 11-8. That was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the game. The Hornets quickly extended their lead, cruising to a victory in the fourth set, 25-14.
Going into the last set, everyone in the gym knew that the Rams were falling apart. Their communication had lacked throughout the second part of the game, and the intensity and energy level had decreased tremendously. For the fourth time, FM came out dominating. The Red Rams looked to be in disarray, hardly ever knowing where the ball was landing. FM took a fast 10-4 lead and kept the momentum rolling as they won the final set an astonishing 25-6.
After the game, Linda Shen talked about how the game went and what will change without their starting setter. “We definitely got down on ourselves when we lost Maris. It was a huge loss because a setter is one of the most important players on a team… Maris’s energy on the court radiated through everyone else.” Maris will be out for an unknown amount of time, but will surely be missed by the team.
Although the game was a bit of a disappointment, the pink-out was a great success, raising tons of money and bringing the JD community closer together. Jamesville-DeWitt (5-2) looks to bounce back tomorrow at Auburn.
