The gym turned dark and lights spewed on the Highlanders and the Hornets on Nov. 10th, signalling the start of the regional semifinals.
The Highlanders were 2-0 against the Herndon Hornets in the regular season in narrow victories, but nevertheless they helped secure McLean the #1 seed in the Liberty District.
“[The Hornets] are a very good team,” head coach John Tamashiro said. “The first time we played them, we won in five, and the second time we won in four.”
The first set had the Hornets pulling an early 2-0 lead, as McLean consistently hit the ball out of bounds. Senior setter Evan Li aced multiple times in a row and brought the Highlanders’ spirits up.
“We need to work together as a team,” Li said. “We’re always practicing and sticking together, but during the game we need to communicate more.”
Both teams fought hard in the opening set, but the Highlanders’ prevailed by cleanly winning the set at 25-16.
“We made a lot of unnecessary errors,” junior outside hitter William McGinnis said. “In the set, we gave [Herndon] 30% of their points just from our mistakes that we could fix up.”
The second set had McLean up against the wall at first, with Herndon up 12-7 forcing the Highlanders to take a timeout. The Hornets’ hitters proved to be a challenge for offense plays from McLean as constant blocks shut down aggressive plays from McLean. However, the Highlanders adapted fast to the gameplay.
“We watched a lot of videos of [Herndon’s] gameplay,” Tamashiro said. “Each one of the players we played against, we knew their habits and weaknesses.”
At a score of 20-20 in the set, the atmosphere in the gym was tense. Both teams fought to keep the ball up after waves of offense.
McLean eventually took a narrow 24-23 lead, causing Herndon to call a timeout; a last chance breath to win the second set. It didn’t stop phenom Li though from acing his serve to clinch the second set for McLean.
“Overall, we’re shaping up to be a great team,” Li said. “A strength of ours is our ability to bounce back from long runs and little mistakes that we make.”
During the third set, a key player to McLean’s offense was injured. A hush fell over the crowd as Senior outside hitter Zolo Ganzorig dislocated his finger, after McLean fell behind 9-4 in the third set.
“I’m extremely proud of the underclassmen who stepped up for our injured player,” McGinnis said. “They did a great job.”
This didn’t stop the Highlanders from pushing the set to 15-13, where Herndon took a timeout to strategize.
The score was 23-17, and the Hornets proved why they were one of the top teams in the region, winning four consecutive points to put the score at 23-21, in which the Highlanders’ took a much needed timeout. A quick breather was all McLean needed as they grabbed their final two points needed to win the set 25-21, and swept the match 3-0.
The win secured McLean a spot in not only the Regional Final for a second year in a row, but also a spot in the State tournament in back-to-back seasons. The Highlanders are set to play the Oakton Cougars in Regional Finals on Nov. 12th at McLean in a highly anticipated matchup.
“We did a good job coming back from adversity and focusing on the next point,” McGinnis said. “We’re going to stretch, eat well, and mentally prepare for our next game.”
