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The Verdugo Hills Dons Girl’s Volleyball team continued their season against the Arleta Mustangs in impressive fashion 25-9, 25-14, 25-11 to win the matchup 3-0. The Dons did not play any overly stressful sets despite being bitten by an injury bug. They were without Outside Hitter Ana Vasquez, and Outside Hitters Yahaira Vazquez and Jocelyn Lopez dealt with nagging injuries throughout the contest. Coach Will Reinhart stated that the team had to shift its focus from outside hitting to more of a middle approach, and it paid dividends. “Our team is set up on outside hitting,” he said, “it was a good adjustment by the girls.”
Several players stepped up to fill the void, notably Senior Middle Hitter Marija Vukic, Senior Setter Marissa Mcleland, and Junior Setter Ika Vukic. Maria Vukic finished with 4 kills, 5 aces and 4 digs. Mcleland added 3 kills, 1 ace and 1 dig, and Ika Vukic had 6 assists, 2 aces and 1 dig. Though they were dealing with nagging issues, Lopez and Vazquez were still able to contribute to the victory. Lopez finished with 5 kills, 1 ace and 2 digs and Vazquez had 6 kills, 6 assists, 4 aces and 5 digs. “(Lopez) stepped up big time,” said Reinhart after the match.
The experience gained by the players stepping in to fill the injury void can only be seen as a good thing, especially with the Dons having three big matchups looming next week, starting with John Francis Polytechnic on Monday in an away match.
