Right from the very beginning the Bengals show signs of a very strong and dedicated team. Walking into this particular game the Bengals Varsity volleyball team knew that they would have some tough competition. The Bengals had a lot of pressure rising on them because in order to have a chance at state the Bengals needed to beat Osseo, but the question is can they do it?

Leading the Bengals with the serve is Senior Captain Rebecca Hawkins. Starting the game off right by making her serve, the Osseo team quickly returns it with a perfect, pass, set and hit. Throughout this long rally the Bengals never give in to the Osseo team, which proves that they are ready for a fight. As a player in the Blaine Volleyball program one of the things that I have heard head coach Celeste Gorman say many times is “Communication is key, on and off the court.” The Bengals were doing a great job communicating with each other, and working as a team.

Both teams felt the pressure of winning, and both teams wanted the win. The Osseo team was not giving in, and neither were the Blaine Bengals. The score is 22-24 Blaine in the lead, the Bengals just need one more point to win the first set, and they win the point! Blaine is leading the Osseo team by winning one set out of three.

Set two begins, and the Osseo team puts up another great fight – trailing the Bengals point by point. The score was 14-11 and Blaine is losing. Gorman calls a timeout to talk to her players, and reassure them that they can win this match. The ref blows the whistle to signal that times up, and the Blaine Bengals walk onto the court re-charged and ready to win. The Bengals pull out an amazing win in set two, the final score 25-21. Blaine in the lead winning two sets to zero.

The start of the third match, and the Bengals are riled up and ready to win. Sophey Stepanek was leading the Bengals with 14 kills, Rebecca Hawkins had 20 assists and 15 digs, and Gabi Deden had 18 assists. The Osseo team puts up an another amazing fight but it’s just not enough of a fight to defeat the Bengals. In the third set the final score was 28-26. The Bengals had a little trouble towards the end getting those last few points to end the game, but in the end the Bengals pulled out a win. It was an amazing night of Volleyball, and a great last home game for the 2014 Blaine Volleyball Season.