Beginning the second half of the season the way they started the first half, the Oakland Tech Bulldog Volleyball team defeated Oakland High in 3 sets (25-12, 25-9, 25-16) on Thursday at Tech.  The victory keeps the ‘Dogs on top of the pile in the OAL with a perfect 6-0 record.  Tech has dropped only one game (to Fremont) all year.

In the first two games against O-High, it was again solid fundamentals, ball control, and serving that led to the victory.  Tech had several nice kills thanks to the great setting of Robyn and Elena, but also had very few unforced errors.  Game one saw the Bulldogs jump out to leads of 7-1 and 12-6 before cruising to a 25-12 win.

Game 2 was highlighted by a run of 11 consecutive points behind Robyn’s unreturnable serving, and Saili had a nice kill to put Tech comfortably in control, 22-8, on their way to a 25-9 victory.

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The official Ace-ometer shows the 28 aces that Tech served up against the Knights

The Oakland Tech Bulldogs remained undefeated through the first half of the OAL season by defeating Castlemont, 3-0 (25-6, 25-18, 25-14) on Thursday afternoon at the Dog Pound.

The Knights, who are fielding their first Volleyball team in several years, battled valiantly.  After falling in the first game 25-6, Castlemont settled down to make games 2 and 3 competitive.   In the third game, the score was tied 5-5 before Tech pulled away behind the solid serving and timely hitting.

The highlight of the match came midway through game 3, when McKayla Brekke made a perfect pass off of a tough Castlemont serve.  Setter Elena Ramos rewarded McKayla with a great set, which she placed perfectly into the vacant back row for the kill.

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The first-place Oakland Tech volleyball team took care of business on Thursday, defeating a scrappy McClymonds squad, 3-0 (25-7, 25-4, 25-9).

Tech was sparked by the play of Paulina Tong, Shalonn Powell, Saili Willis, and McKayla Brekke.  The teamwork was strong, and the Bulldogs serving and ball control was more than the young McClymonds team could handle. The highlight of the match was a solid kill by Saili off of a perfect set from McKayla in Game 3.

The Bulldogs are now 4-0 in OAL play, and host Castlemont next Tuesday, October 27th, at 3:30.

The main question on everyone’s mind prior to Tuesday’s varsity volleyball match with Fremont was: can the surprising Bulldogs maintain their early season momentum and knock off a second consecutive upper-division league foe?

Bulldogs celebrate their victory over Fremont

The answer? A resounding “Yes, we can!”.

The next question was, after winning their first two matches without dropping a game, how would the Bulldogs react to a bit of adversity?

The answer? “Very well, thank you”.

Against a much bigger Fremont squad, Tech ran its streak of game victories to start the season to 8, winning the first 2 games of the match, 25-17 and 25-21.   Solid serving from Andrea Taylor, and timely kills from Tangi Gaddis off of pinpoint sets from Elena Ramos and Robyn Levinson put Fremont in a deep hole.

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Bulldogs pass the test in match against Skyline

The Oakland Tech Varsity Volleyball squad defeated host Skyline High in 3 games on Thursday, 26-24, 26-24, 25-17. The win allows the Bulldogs to remain undefeated and atop the OAL standings after 2 matches, setting up a first-place showdown with Fremont next Tuesday.

Robyn Levinson and Elena Ramos led Tech with their stellar ball control and setting, while outside hitter Tangi Gaddis turned in numerous impressive kills.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in game 1, using solid passing and ball control to take an 11-3 lead. McKayla Brekke took advantage of her first career start and lit a spark by turning in solid passing and defense. Skyline battled back from a 23-19 deficit, however, to tie the game at 23, before Tech rallied to eek out a 26-24 win.

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Behind some dominant serving and solid fundamental play, the Oakland Tech Varsity Volleyball squad won their 2009 season opener, 3-0, at Oakland High on Tuesday.

Game one was close early, but behind some tough Robyn Levinson serving and Tangi Gaddis hitting, the Bulldogs stretched a 17-13 lead to a 25-14 victory.

Game two was a see-saw battle early as the two teams were even at 11-11.  That’s when Kendall Williams took over the serving duties, and the Bulldogs took over the game.  Seven of Kendall’s next 8 serves were aces, and Tech took a 19-11 lead that O-High could not overcome.

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at Oakland Tech, following the 3:30 Varsity match.

at Oakland Tech, following the 3:30 Varsity match.

at Oakland Tech, following the 3:30 Varsity match.

at Skyline, following the 3:30 Varsity match.