LJ g VB 3, UC 1

By Ed Piper

With sophomore outside hitter Amaya McMillan asserting herself more and more, La Jolla's volleyball team roared to its ninth victory in 10 matches this season on the power of a 3-1 win at University City Wed., Sept. 5.

The Vikings, led by 6'3" Leyla Blackwell's 19 kills, experienced a slight blip in the third game, when Centurion Mina Orlic served on nine straight points, bringing UC back from what had seemed like an insurmountable 22-14 La Jolla lead to a 26-24 upset win.

That collapse made the game count 2-1, still in favor of the visitors. But Viking coach Kelly Drobeck's team then wasted no time in closing the match out with a decisive 25-16 win in the fourth game.

McMillan, a 5'5" newcomer to the varsity, had a block at 20-14 and a kill for 21-15 in that final game.

"Amaya's doing better and better," said setter Maya Gessner after the match. "She's making some excellent hits."

Sophomore libero Alex DiNofia, whom Drobeck calls "our stabilizer", said, "Our defense is playing really well. They are going hard for the ball."

On a night when La Jolla didn't have its best volleyball, it still did enough to win. The Vikings, facing a UC program that just got elevated from Division 2 to Division 1 this season, were inconsistent in the early going and almost seemed like they were toying with the lesser-talented Centurions at points.

That inconsistency and some vocal UC football players in the stands, along with others, cheering on their home team on led to the Viking detour in the fourth game.

However, the defense held. DiNofia, anchoring the back line, recorded 17 digs. Gessner, a 6'0" junior, had 10.

When a reporter commented on the Vikings' "changed culture" to the present, forward-charging one, Drobeck, smiling, replied, "Let's keep our fingers crossed."

Blackwell, a steady and skilled server besides her forceful hitting in the middle, has helped foster that positive culture. "Let's stay focused, you guys," she told her teammates in the huddle after the second-game win, when it looked like La Jolla was going to steamroll the Centurions in three straight games.