Venice Volleyball Cruises Against League Rival Fairfax

The Venice Gondoliers girls' volleyball team continued their stellar league play as they ran over the Fairfax Lions, winning easily in 3 sets.  The win puts them at 5-0 in league play. 

"We've played well and consistently against the teams in our league." Said Venice coach Allen Hunt.  "The league is a little down this year, but these games will help us prepare for the tougher teams down the line."

The Gondoliers started off slowly, falling behind 7-4 early in the first set, but that would be the last time they would trail for the rest of the match.  Junior co-captain Molly Lieske led Venice to six straight points on her serve, and the Gondoliers never looked back.

"Keeping our serve is very important to the team.  And I was able to serve so effectively because the coaches were able to pick out the weak points in our opponents set up, so  I knew where to serve on each point," Lieske said after the game.

Lieske closed out the first set with four more points on her serve. Once the second set started, it was senior Avery Rice's turn to lead Venice on her serve. She won six straight on her serve, putting Fairfax in a hole to start the set.

"Avery has been serving very well recently. We've been working with her on trying to minimize mistakes with her serve, and it has really helped out both her and the team," said Coach Hunt.

Venice was able to close out the second set, winning 25-15.  In the third set, it was the combination of Lieske and Rice that led the way. The two served back to back, and in that span, the Gondoliers won 8 of the next 10 points.

Last week, Lieske led the team in kills against Palisades with 10. This week, she tied for the lead (seven) with senior Sarah Takagaki. Lieske said after the game that the kills help to energize the whole team.

"When you get kills, it really picks up everyone on the team. When they see you giving it your all, they want to do the same and try to play as well as you are."

Venice won the third and final set 25-13, and fittingly enough, it was Lieske who won the final point on her serve. With the win, Venice is back at .500 on the year, but more importantly, they have yet to suffer defeat in their league. 

The Gondoliers will try to keep up their winning ways on Wednesday at 4 p.m., when they take on league opponent LACES at home.