Arabians slam Pleasanton in Regional Quarterfinals

The Arabian offense fired one kill after another at the Lady Eagles in an exciting Quarterfinal Match last week, but the Eagles weren’t giving up easy. The following are some of the game highlights from a great game last Tuesday night, November 7 before the Arabians advanced to the Regional Semifinals later that week.
In game one, a great kill by Addie Trojanowski tied the game 8-8. Chesney Friesenhahn and Caimee Fowler shut down the Eagles with a big block to tie the game again at 10-10. Sierra Pompa added another kill on a nice pass by libero Makenna Morales to take a two point lead at 12-10. The Eagles couldn’t return a nice serve by Morales that lengthened our lead even further, and after a nice diving save by Morales the next play, Pompa nailed another kill to make it 17-11. On a nice dig by Amanda Richardson, Alissa Stehle threw down a kill on another great set by Trojanowski. Trojanowski set up Pompa who slammed middle back with another kill to make it 20-13, and Trojanowski came at them even harder with a kill on the next play. Dana Aaron and Stehle had a good block on the next volley, and Trojanowski soon laid down two more kills on the Eagles. As game 1 winded down, setter Sydney Rendon found a hole to make it 23-17, and Richardson added an ace on the next play. Friesenhahn finished off set one with a good kill on a short set out of the middle to make it 25 Arabians – 19 Eagles.
In game two, the Eagles started to take an early lead, but the Arabians put up a good fight all the way till game point. Pompa came at the Eagles in a big way with a hit they couldn’t return at 2-3, and they struggled to return another one of her hits on the next play forcing an Eagle error. Pompa made a quick pick up on a short ball and broke the Eagle’s block on the next volley as well to make it 4-5. Stehle soon added another nice kill, and Rendon set up Trojanowski for a great kill busting up Pleasanton’s blockers again at 6-8. Fowler snuck two good kills on a few plays later to make the score 8-13, Pleasanton still leading. No Eagle was brave or quick enough to touch the next kill by Pompa, after a nice pass by Morales and Trojanowski set. A great save by Trojanowski kept the ball out of the net just when Pleasanton wasn’t expecting a return to make it 14-19. Friesenhahn and Fowler fired a couple more kills at the Eagles to shake em’ up, and Pompa ended a long volley with a nice kill to keep the comeback going at 18-24. With the crowd on edge, Rendon made a nice save to keep the volley going on what could have been game point, and a nice pass by Morales lead to a big kill out of Trojanowski that practically bounced up to the ceiling when the Eagles tried to dig it. Trojanowski finished off the next two volleys too with a bang to make it 24 Pleasanton- 21 Devine, but after holding the Eagles to 24 for several big plays, they finally snuck in a kill to end game two, 25 Pleasanton- 21 Devine.
Richardson started off game three with two nice serves, and a Trojanowski kill gave the Arabians an early 2-0 lead. The Eagles couldn’t return a Fowler kill a few plays later, and on a nice pass by Richardson, Trojanowski sent a nice long set to Pompa for the kill at 4-5. Friesenhahn found a hole to add another two points and take the lead at 6-5. A nice serve left the Eagles struggling on the next play, and Trojanowski set up Stehle for a nice kill on the right hand side to make it 8-6. The Eagles came back at us, and soon took the lead once again, but the Arabians kept on fighting. The Eagles barely returned Pompa’s hit and then Stehle nailed them with another kill to make it 9-10. Morales came up with another great dig on the next play but we eventually lost that volley. Rendon set up Trojanowski with a kill no one wanted to touch at 12-13. Trojanowski’s jump serve couldn’t be returned and on the next play the Arabians forced a Pleasanton error to tie the game 15-15. Friesenhahn ended a nice long volley with a big block to tie the game up again at 16-16. The Eagles and Arabians stayed neck and neck for a while with a great hustle by the Arabian defense and some great digs by Morales, Richardson and Trojanowski, but no one was brave enough to return Pompa’s kill to take the lead again at 18-17. And that was a lead the Arabians wouldn’t give up. Frisenhahn hit the floor for a diving dig, and Trojanowski sent the ball to Pompa for a big slam and a 3 point lead at 20-17, and you could hear that ball when it hit! Rendon hit Trojanowski for a great kill at 23-20, and on a nice pass by Morales, Rendon set up Trojanowski for another kill that busted up the block to make it game point for the Arabians, who took game 3.
Game four was a good set also. A dig by Morales, and Trojanowski set up Friesenhahn for a kill to tie it up 4-4. Morales produced another nice pass for Trojanowski to set up Pompa to take a 6-4 lead, and that ball flew to the wall as the Eagles tried to return it. Trojanowski slammed one down to tie the game up again at 8-8, and she and Aaron put up a nice block on the next play but eventually lost that volley. Rendon hit Trojanowski for a nice kill to bust up blockers at 9-9, and a big Friesenhahn and Fowler block shut down the Eagle offense at 11-10. On a pass by Morales, Trojanowski sent a pretty back set to Fowler for a kill at 12-12. Morales made one of her outstanding one-handed digs leading to a kill from Pompa to lead 13-12. Stehle had a BIG block to keep the lead at 14-13. Friesenhahn sent over an ace, and Pompa added another kill on the next couple plays. Rendon set up Trojanowski for a GREAT kill to make it a 3 point lead, and a big block by Aaron and Fowler made it 19-15 Arabians. Trojanowski nailed a nice kill of a bump set at 20-18. Richardson soon sent over a nice serve, and Rendon hit the floor hustling to keep the ball in play on the next volley, forcing an Eagle error at 21-18. Trojanowski was killing it again on the next play, and Morales had a great dig in the next volley. On a pass by Morales, Trojanowski set up Friesenhahn one last time, and she ended game four with a great kill out of the middle to make the final score 25 Devine 25 – 19 Pleasanton. A video of that last volley can be seen on the The Devine News Twittter account.
This big win advanced the Arabians to the Regional Semi-Finals once again, where they battled Needville (see separate story).