In a game full of timeouts, “bagels,” and Maverick support, girls’ volleyball notched a win against St. Pius X in just three sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-10).

The first set on Liu Court began with six consecutive service winners from sophomore Celia Adams. By the time the Panthers called timeout, the score reached 17-9 in favor of the Mavericks. After only 25 minutes, the set was over.

In the second set, the Mavs jumped out to a 13-4 lead before the Panthers called another timeout. With steady play from all facets of the game, the Mavs held on the their sizable lead to win the set.

 With such a large lead, the Mavs could try out some trick plays: “My favorite moment was when we ran a play called ‘Bagel,’ because we came up with it as a team and successfully ran it to score the point,” senior Wallis Turley said.

The Mavs deployed the Bagel in the third set. With a 10-point lead, head coach Karen Morgan allowed the players to call the play.

“Plays in volleyball are used to confuse the blockers on the other team,” Morgan said, “In the ‘Bagel’ play, our hitters rotate in a circle to hit from a different spot on the court.”

Playing as an outside hitter while running the Bagel, Turley spiked the ball in an empty zone in the Panther defense to score the point. Giving each other a round of high fives and encouragement, the energy remained palpable on the court, with additional support from the bleachers, where many sophomore and junior classmates came to cheer on the Mavs.

“The support from our classmates really meant a lot to the team and hyped us up,” sophomore Ana Rodriguez said. “It gave us the motivation we needed to win.”

When the Mavs closed out the third set, 25-10, they gained a measure of revenge after losing to St. Pius last year in straight sets.

“The game didn’t go as I expected because St. Pius beat us last year in three sets, and it wasn’t a close game,” Turley said. “We played competitively, and we’ll be ready to compete in our counter games.”