At this year’s 2022-2022 WOW games taking place on Oct. 4, Oxford faced Whitney at home once again. The varsity team came into the match on an incredible 19-2 record and dominated the set score 3-0. FroshSoph also won their respective match, but Oxford couldn’t complete the sweep, with JV losing their game in two tightly contested sets.
FroshSoph opened the WOW games, going to all three possible sets. The Oxford Patriots trailed early in the first period but rallied to get within striking distance, trailing 20-22 in the closing minutes. With their momentum, Whitney closed out the first set, winning 25-22. FroshSoph went on to win the next two periods, opening both with hot starts. The girls led 5-0 in the second and 5-1 in the decisive third round, securing it with a score of 15-13 and starting the day strong for Oxford.
The JV team suited up after FroshSoph’s game ended. Like FroshSoph, they lost the first set and came up just short of evening the score in the second. In a matchpoint for Whitney, the Patriots fought to force a third set in a tight back-and-forth. Both teams struggled to pull away in the closing minutes, resulting in six deuces and ties after the 25-point mark, before Whitney finally secured a two-point advantage at 33-31.
“In the last set there was a lot of suspense because it really came down to those last few points. We were trying so hard to keep the ball up even if the plays were messy,” JV volleyball player Serafina Nour said. “[Though] we were disappointed in our loss but overall I think that team was proud that we put up a good fight and tried our best by putting it all out on the court.”
To conclude the night, varsity swept their match against Whitney 3-0. Varsity’s games against Whitney began with decisive leads, with the Patriots winning 25-11 off of six service aces from Katie Truong. Likewise, Elyannah Sonza delivered six service aces to start the second set. Whitney rallied to make the second period the most closely contested set of the night, but the Patriots took the win 25-21 and won the last set 25-15 to end the night victorious.
“The WOW games were extra special this year because it was combined with our senior night, so special that I can’t recall very much,” senior volleyball player Christina Nguyen said. “It went by very fast and for our being one of our last home games, it was so memorable and heartwarming.”
Oxford carried that momentum into their subsequent league games in early October. They went 4-1 in a five-game stretch against others in the 605 League, including the WOW games. They beat Artesia, Pioneer, and Glenn as well, but lost an away game to Cerritos. Moving forward, the team will look to replicate their season success in the past few games and carry that momentum into the CIF playoffs.
“We really want to make it to the Quarter-Finals round this year of CIF [and] get the first Girls Volleyball Banner in the gym since 2006!” varsity volleyball co-captain Elyannah Sonza said. “We’ve grown a lot as a team in all aspects, and we want to really push our limits despite the challenging teams we may face.”
