Yesterday afternoon, on our school’s 101st birthday, the volleyball team achieved a milestone of their own by winning their 50th consecutive league match with a 3-0 sweep over Knox. The win not only extended their own school record but earned them a 45th straight victory on the Swanson Gymnasium hardwood.

The Falcons, who did not have a varsity team last year and fell to the Bears in the PSAA JV Championship, were quickly overmatched by the power and poise of their hosts. Julianna Sparacio opened the scoring with two aces on her first three serves. Knox got a point back, but a 13-0 run by the Bears, punctuated by five Ella Middlekauff aces, gave the hosts a commanding 16-1 lead. After the Falcons ended the run, a 7-0 run for The Brook, which included three Cassandra Rohan aces, pushed the Blue & White advantage to 23-2 before Gillian Bernier ended the set with a kill at 25-3.

Middlekauff’s serve continued to cause problems for the visitors as she fired three straight aces to build a 4-0 lead early in set two. The Falcons were unable to score consecutive points for the second straight frame while the Bears strung together numerous devastating runs. A 5-0 run, powered by a trio of Rohan aces, gave the Bears a 10-1 edge. The lead grew to 14-4 when the Bears closed the set on an 11-0 run, almost entirely engineered by Charlotte Cisz. Knox failed to return her serve nine times, including six by way of the ace. The only time they did manage to get it over the net, Rohan was waiting for a dunk shot. The impressive stretch closed round two, 25-4.

The consecutive point streak reached 21-0 as the Bears reeled off the first 10 points of the third set behind Sparacio’s serve. Knox scored a point to make the score 10-1 before the Bears unleashed a 6-0 run that featured three Middlekauff aces. Knox edged their margin back to 2-16 before a 7-0 Brook run, punctuated by six straight Rohan aces, pushed the score to 23-2. Sandy Tao ended the final set at 25-3 with consecutive aces. The Bears overwhelmed the Falcons across the three sets, never allowing the visitors to score consecutive points.

The Bears are back in action on Friday evening when they host Martin Luther in a PSAA match-up.

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