Two of the most dominating volleyball teams in the AAA league, Lincoln and Lowell, faced off in the varsity championships on Nov. 12 at Lincoln High School. The majority of the players on both squads were juniors, four total seniors on Lowell and three seniors on Lincoln. This year’s match up turned out to be a grudge match of last years junior varsity championships where the Mustangs captured the title for the first time ever. The Cardinals cruised to a victory in three sets, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22, defeating the Mustangs and continuing their volleyball dynasty.

“It was incredible. It felt even more special because not only did it make all the hard work worthwhile but also it made up for last years junior varsity loss at the championship,” Lowell junior Megan Luu said.

Lincoln Head Coach Allen Lau showed no signs of doubt that his girls would match up well against the rival Cardinals.

“I think we already were prepared. We’ve been prepared ever since we played them [Lowell] in the season, and we won there,” Lau said. “Mentally we tried to stay positive and encouraging. Skillwise we have totally been prepared.”

The playoff was a cinch for the 9-1 Lady Mustangs. Lincoln’s opponent, Galileo was disqualified for placing an illegal player on the court and Balboa was easily dispatched in three sets. Despite the amount of solid teams facing Lincoln in the playoffs, the Mustangs were still prepared for the Lowell Cardinals.

Lincoln never gained control during the championship game, trailing Lowell in almost all of the first two sets, rarely getting an advantage on the scoreboard. The Cardinals convincingly shut down the Mustangs in the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-19. When the Mustangs found themselves down two sets to none, coach Lau had to remind his team that they worked hard to get where they are. Both Lowell and Lincoln were inconsistent with their serves at some points of the game, but it came down to which team made more mistakes.

“We weren’t hitting as aggressive as we could have, and defensively I think we could have picked up more balls,” junior defensive specialist Connie Huang said.

Lincoln fired away in the start of the third set. The Mustangs commanded the lead for the majority of the third set. But fatigue settled in as the game prolonged, resulting in mental errors, serves, and hits not clearing the net. Hopes were high for the Mustangs’ fans when Lincoln was up 22-21. The Lady Mustangs couldn’t buy a point after that while Lowell cranked out 3 points in a row. The intensity was high and the pressure was on with the game at 22-24.

“We can’t give up even though its 22-24. We have to keep fighting with it because you never know. It is better off if you are fighting for that point versus just giving it up,” Lau said in hopes to spark a fire in the Lady Mustangs.

Despite the gritty third set play of the Mustangs, the Cardinals were just too much for Lincoln to control. Although Lincoln defeated Lowell during the regular season the Mustangs were unable to capitalize on their previous victory.

After the disappointing loss, Lau was able to express his thoughts through the third set. “Honestly I thought we would pull it off. I thought we were going to go and play the next game we will play again, win that one, and go five games. But it didn’t happen that way,” Lau said.

Even without the AAA volleyball trophy, Lau is still enthusiastic about next year’s season.