At GDS volleyball’s “Pack the House Night,” fans chanted “one more point” in unison as GDS fought to rally back from a six-point deficit to take their third straight set and win the match.
GDS beat Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) in straight sets in front of a packed high school gym. Students crowded the gym in USA-themed clothing and face paint for “Pack the House Night,” the GDS volleyball team’s first home game this season.
On Sept. 17, The Washington Post ranked GDS varsity volleyball number one in the D.C. area after they took down Flint Hill to win the Virginia Beach Endless Summer Volleyball Tournament. The next day, Sports Illustrated released its top 25 national girls’ high school volleyball rankings, with GDS at #20.
Before Friday’s game, senior Zoe Ryu, who is committed to Bowdoin College for volleyball, was honored for her milestone of 500 kills — unreturnable hits resulting in a point for the team.
GDS began the first set scoring seven unanswered points and, after OLGC scored once, GDS won ten straight points, making the score 17–1. The first set resulted in a 25–5 victory for GDS.
To begin the second set, OLGC took their first lead of the night, making the score 1–0. GDS quickly came back and won the set 25–9.
Despite winning the first two sets, GDS had more trouble winning points in the third set. GDS, after being tied 16–16, went down 23–17 from a six-point run from OLGC.
“I think our first and second sets were really good, but I think in the third set we got a little in our heads,” McDermott said.
After going back and forth in the third set, GDS rallied to a 25–23 victory.
Junior Fiona McDermott attributed the success in the first two sets to “communicating and using the energy of the fans.”
“Only parents come to our other games, and our other games don’t have good fan sections, so the fans make a big difference,” sophomore Zora Dimbo said.
GDS, after being behind 23–17 in the third set, came back by scoring eight consecutive points to win the game.
Head varsity volleyball coach Brandon Wiest said, “Any time you’re down near the end of a set, there’s a little anxiety. Everyone feels pressure in those tough situations.”
“When it gets quiet, it’s hard to lock in and be in it, but once the fans got back in it, that’s when we really turned it back on,” Chhum said.
“Brandon [the head coach] got some pretty good timeouts,” she added. “It’s all about the timing for those because we were struggling at the end, especially with serving.”
“When they were able to rattle off a few points against us, it put us in a tough spot,” Wiest said. “I think the timeouts not only let us reset but also gave the fans a little breather and understanding that we needed them, too.”
“It was super important and really helpful to have our fan section. They totally brought the energy and made the game ten times more fun,” senior Shiraz Benyoucef said.
“I think it speaks volumes, the way in which we won the third set — scoring eight points in a row against a team that we got our backs against the wall to and a team that’s just applying a lot of pressure to us,” Wiest said. “We were able to just lock in and focus.”