On Tuesday, April 28th, the STA Boys’ Volleyball team battled the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks in the Aquinas gym at 6:00 p.m. for the title of District Champions. STA took home the title, winning Districts for the first time in a close five-set match.
Previously defeated by the Mavericks, the STA boys’ volleyball team made it their mission to claim the coveted title on their home court. The team demonstrated a remarkable offensive strategy, with 62 kills and 37 points off of serves. At the front of the net were John Virginio, making skillful plays and intelligent decisions to receive 15 kills, and Jordan Diaz, with an impressive 21 kills. Kamaal Medina also showed off his strength and skillful ball placement by earning 14 kills. Elijah Lam and Christian Nicholson both got two kills as well. On the back line, John Virginio had one ace and scored 11 points off of serves. Jordan Diaz served nine points and had one ace as well. Jacob Eco had an impressive ace at game point in the third set to bring the game to a 2-1 set lead for the Raiders. Setting up their hitters for success, Elijah Lam had 40 sets and Adriano Chiabra had 13 sets. With the scores going back and forth, both teams’ offense fought hard to claim each set.
Defensively, the Raiders pulled through, consistently being ready for any serve or spike aimed at them. Charles Campell put up five blocks, Kamaal Medina with three blocks, and Luke Swadener gained two blocks, all giving an impressive effort, earning an overall team total of 10. Jordan Diaz and libero Joseph Virginio had 10 digs, and John Virginio was close with nine digs. Elijah Lam and Adriano Chiabra both had two digs, and Luke Swadener and Christian Nicholson had one dig each. On serve receive, John Virginio had an impressive 33 receptions against the Mavericks! Jordan Diaz also had 22 serve receives, and Joseph Virginio received 10. Defensively, STA was unstoppable, keeping the game going despite any challenge.
The STA Raiders put up a tough offense and relentless defense, going back and forth with the Mavericks. The first set was lost 18-25. However, the Raiders returned strong with a 33-31 and 26-24 point win in the second and third sets. The Mavericks won the fourth set 25-21, bringing the game to a tied set score of 2-2. With all the energy from the crowd, the Raiders reclaimed their dominance in a 15-13 win, making the final set score 3-2, and the STA Raiders District Champions.
