Jacks Took the Tree

The big game of the week took place on Wednesday in Big Valley with a nail-biting game of the Hayfork Timberjacks vs. the Big Valley Cardinals. In the first set, Big Valley took the first serve leading to some wild rallies that had the audience on the edge of their seats. It was a close set with some great serves from our very own #25, Iris Coty. At the end of the first set it was a very close score with Hayfork at 23 and Big valley at 25.

Into the second set, Hayfork took the first serve but without any luck. Big Valley had a great start but our girls fought hard to pull themselves up, making an amazing effort with players like #20, Alexis Smith diving to the ground to dig up the ball. With great effort, Big Valley still prevailed in this set with 25-15, but the Timberjacks didn’t let this dampen their fighting spirit!

Big Valley started the third set with their serve but Hayfork wasn’t letting that push them down. They rallied hard and fought with everything they had, and it paid off. Our girls pulled through to the end with the last two serves coming from #26, Jacey Pickett, bringing us to win the third set! They pulled through with a score of Big Valley at 19 and Hayfork at 25.

Hayfork’s win led us into the fourth set. Hayfork had the first serve but had missed the point. However, our girls were fired up and weren’t giving up that easily! Both teams fought hard and were neck to neck for the majority of the set, the room was thick with the tension of this set. Our very own Smith got the serve, and made 5 consecutive points leading Hayfork into another win! The final score was very close with Big Valley at 23 and Hayfork at 25. An impressive show of defense came from #14, Taylor Guilfoile. It was her first game playing as libero and she did great! She made a lot of great saves and serves during this game. It was a great game overall and the girls did amazing.

Guilfoile’s thoughts about her first time as libero were, “It was nerve wracking at first but then towards the end it was really fun. I hope to do it again in the next two years.”

Finally, came the fifth set that would determine the outcome of the game. The Timberjacks were laser focused on coming out on top. For every time the ball went back and forth, everyone in the room visibly tensed up. In the end, with a fight that was ruthless on each side, Hayfork came out on top! The final score was Big Valley 13 and Hayfork 15. Big Valley fought hard but Hayfork wasn’t going to lose this game. “It was a rough start, but I think we all wanted the win bad enough that we worked harder in the last three games to get that win,” Smith said.

Monday's volleyball match took place at home with Trinity vs. Hayfork. Hayfork got the first serve with #9, Madison Balbini, serving but Trinity proved a fierce opponent. The game was a fight but Trinity came out as the winner. Despite that, our players made some great plays, like Guilfoile, who made some amazing dives and even took a ball to the face! Although we didn’t win, the Timberjacks made a great effort.