On Sept. 16, McLean’s girls volleyball team hosted the Wakefield Warriors in their sixth game of the season. Lackluster showings led the team to a 2-3 start, however a 1-4 Wakefield team was McLean’s chance to even out and compete for the playoffs.

Having faced them once already on Sept. 15 and losing a long five-set match, the Highlanders knew what they had to do to come back to their house and prevent an 0-2 record against Wakefield on the season.

“First off, we wanted to win in our house,” head coach Amy DeBok said. “We switched up the lineup a bit after seeing how they played yesterday and the benefits really showed.”

After an electric guitar rendition of the National Anthem, the whistle blew for the commencement of the game. McLean came out tepid, with the first set being a tight affair. Both teams jumped out to short leads that did not last. However, the Highlanders began to assert dominance, pulling away with a 14-7 lead.

Wakefield showed their grit, continuing to fight back and eventually forcing a timeout from McLean after getting to a 21-19 lead. In the timeout, something clicked for the Highlanders, as they pulled through and found a rhythm. A 6-0 run allowed them to prevail in the first set, winning 25-21.

The second set started out in the same manner, with both teams battling it out and stalling at 6-6. The Warriors then went on a run scoring four of the next five points and forcing McLean to take another timeout.

The back and forth action picked up right where it left off, with excellent defense from both sides and powerful winner-spikes. With McLean down 21-20, they took their second timeout of the set to ensure the Warriors weren’t gaining momentum. The timeout did not hinder Wakefield’s momentum, though, with the next four straight points going in their favor to close out the second set 25-21 Wakefield.

“We have a lot of leaders on the team,” DeBok said. “We have a saying: ‘petal to the metal’ and we have that in our heads every match to make sure we’re always driven.”

And driven they were, as they came out roaring in the third set with a 9-4 lead forcing the Warriors to use an early set timeout to talk things over. The teams remained back-and-forth through the middle of the third set, with McLean keeping a comfortable lead. Their strong and consistent offense gave them a quick advantage over Wakefield, leading to a 19-12 lead before another Wakefield timeout.

On the backs of strong and careful serving, McLean pulled away in the third set, winning 25-16 and shifting all momentum to them with a 2-1 score in the match.

The Highlanders came out hot once again in the fourth set, roaring with an 11-7 early lead. Something clicked in their defense, and senior middle blocker Cat Long along with junior outside hitter Koko Warrell were jumping up for block after block. The team continued this hot streak to a 19-14 lead, and then strong serving from Koko won five points in a row.

With a 24-14 lead for McLean, Wakefield called a last-ditch-effort timeout with the hope of building any comeback. After winning three points in a row, a missed serve sealed the game for McLean, winning 3-1 overall.

“We’ve played four teams in our district so far and out of those four teams we’ve beaten three of them,” Senior center Julie Daniels. “This game kind of helped reinforce the idea that we can hold our own against any team that we go up against and hold on.”

The Highlanders face the 0-8 Herndon Hornets next, where they look to improve their record against yet another district opponent.

“We’re excited,” Daniels said. “We hope to carry this momentum into Herndon and the rest of the season.”