The varsity girls’ volleyball team gained victory against the ICA Spartans on Oct. 20, winning 3–0.

In the beginning of the first set, senior outside hitter Jane Seslar made a series of hard-driven spikes at the Spartans’ unguarded midcourt. Seslar’s tactic proved to be a success for the Cardinals, who have an unbroken scoring streak. In the rest of that set, the Spartans’ defense of the midcourt continued to be weak, allowing the Cardinals to make easy and direct attacks. However, approaching the end of the set, Cardinals’ well-tempered momentum was halted when junior setter Betsy Li was unable to serve the ball successfully. This gave the Spartans’ hope for a win. Both sides built up their aggressiveness through plays such as unpredicted spikes from the corners of the court. Despite their attempt, the Spartans failed to chase back their lost points. The set ended with a 25–8 win.

The Cardinals once again demonstrated their dominance on the court in the following set. Li, now as a middle blocker, returned confidence to the Cardinals as she saved several cross-court shots from the Spartans. The Spartans were chasing closely after the Cardinals by seeking more side attacks and strengthening the backcourt defense. However, sophomore middle blocker Mariko Tanaka found the Spartan’s blind spot and made several strategic cut shots at the Spartans’ backcourt. Due partly to numerous mistakes from the Spartans, such as failed serves and out-of-bound hits, the Cardinals were able to advance through the set easily. In contrast to the downhill morale of the Spartans, the Cardinals paid full attention to each hit and concluded the set 25–7.

Immediately after junior setter Samantha Hum made her serve in the third set, junior right-side hitter Annamarie Kelly spiked at the Spartans’ side court, catching the Spartan’s off guard. An unsuccessful save after a rally between the opponents did not impede the Cardinals from winning. Senior right-side hitter Elise Ng secured the right court tightly in the end of the set, enabling the Cardinals to progress into their final triumph of 25–7.

The Cardinals are currently second after the Lincoln Mustangs in the AAA Division 1, with a 12–2 record. In recent games, the Cardinals have held a decent record, beating Wallenberg Bulldogs 3–0, Galileo Lions 3–0, Burton Pumas 3–0, but losing against Lincoln 2–3. They will be playing against the Wallenberg Bulldogs again for playoffs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Lowell.