The Sept. 30 varsity volleyball victory for the Fremont Firebirds was without a doubt one of the most impressive and improbable come-from-behind victories in school history—for any sport.
Fremont finished off the win with a winner-take-all fifth set after dropping the first set by a whopping 25-8. In seven seasons of covering high school volleyball, this writer had never been more convinced after an opening set that the game would be decided in straight sets. Some might say that’s the beauty of sports, you never know what’s going to happen next.
The jaw-dropping turn of events was sparked gradually by strong serving from Caroline Strigl, Zoe Shie and McKayla Hsu. Some powerful outside hitting from six-footer Natalie Escalera added to the Firebirds upward trajectory, helping the squad take a 12-3 lead in set number two.
Wilcox would not go away quietly though as the Chargers rallied behind a clutch changeup style two-handed shot for a crucial side out by Kelsy Mock. Impressive defense from Isha Bisht and outside hitting from Hanako Stone fueled a 14-3 run for the Chargers, coming all the way back to lead 17-15.
Fremont settled down though and got momentum back when Hsu delivered a dynamite dig that eventually led a huge tying point. Impressive serving late in the set by Alexandra (Lexie) Chen proved crucial in the Firebirds coming away with a 26-24 set win.
The third set was far less dramatic, with Wilcox winning 25-15. Stone and Escalera stood out most for their respective clubs, showing off outstanding outside hitting abilities.
With Wilcox seemingly righting its ship, though, it once again looked like Fremont was in trouble. But the Chargers simply could not extinguish those pesky Firebirds.
Trailing 16-13 in set number four, Hsu came up with another impressive dig and then finished off the point herself with a two-handed change-up shot.
Down the stretch, Fremont received a big middle-hitting kill from Noa Halevy to go up 22-21, and Chen followed up immediately with another ace to push the lead to 23-21.
Eventually, the Firebirds took the set again by a 26-24 score, the set ending with more impressive serving from Shie.
The serving theme continued into the fifth set. Trailing by one at 7-6, Hsu took over behind the line and notched three straight aces to put the Firebirds up by two.
Hsu would deliver a fourth straight awesome serve that forced the Wilcox defense into a weak return that was essentially a layup for Escalera to jump up and hammer to the floor. Nothing the Chargers defense could do, and just like that, the Firebirds had gone from down one to up three at 10-7.
Fremont cruised from there, finishing off the fifth set 15-9 and the incredible, unbelievable, inconceivable 3-2 come-from-behind win.
Very few teams in high school sports needed this kind of victory more than the Firebirds who entered the match just 5-15 overall and 2-3 in league.
“With us struggling early to find our rhythm, find our groove against a team that is so scrappy and defensive, it means a lot to come away with this win,” chimed Hsu. “I think this game shows that when we’re confident as a team. We can do anything we put our minds to.”
“For our kids, it’s huge,” chimed Head Coach Michelle Wagner. “We’re still working on our grit, so the fact that we stayed gritty, stayed in there and fought, it’s just a huge hurdle for us because historically we would collapse in those moments.”
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