Photo of Natalie Arminak courtesy of Amanda Lin

Girls Volleyball:

League leader, Maranatha, knew that third-place Village Christian would make adjustments and fight hard after defeating them 14-4 in their first meeting.

They made their adjustments and came out swinging, leading early on in 4 of 6 first round sets, including in the anticipated rematch of the Olympic League’s top two players, MHS’s Stella Hsieh and VCS’s Karen Shin, whose only league loss was to Hsieh, 6-3.

After splitting the first two games, Shin held serve to hold her first lead over Hsieh this season, 2-1.

It was then that Hsieh doubled down to play more focused, intentional tennis. That was the difference, as Hsieh won the next five games to secure the intense 6-2 win.

#2 Natalie Arminak struggled to find her game and her rhythm in a 2-6 defeat; while #3 Kathryn Khalil was ahead 4-1 before her opponent was forced to retire with an injury.

VCS’s coach, Jonathan Ngai (a Maranatha alum), adjusted his lineup to strengthen the #1 doubles slot.

The stronger play was evident to MHS’s #1 doubles, Kasey McCoy/Esmee Eaton, who trailed, 2-3, before making their own adjustments and rattling off four straight games, to win, 6-3.

#2 Mia Huang/Mia Su and #3 Nelli Breuer/Marie Wolfrum jumped out of the gates fast and hard, never looking back, on their way to impressive 6-0 victories.

The Lady Minutemen led, 5-1, after the first round.

The second round saw Hsieh and Arminak post, 6-1, 6-0 scores, while Khalil fought well in her 2-6 loss to Shin.

McCoy/Eaton found themselves behind, 3-4, before coming from behind again and securing the 6-4 win.

Huang/Su continued their dominant steady play, winning 6-1.

That was matched by Breuer/Wolfrum, who continued their sharp play with a strong 6-3 showing against the #1’s.

That gave Maranatha an insurmountable 10-2 lead heading into the final round.

The third round saw MHS’s doubles squad secure their second consecutive 9-0 sweep, with McCoy/Eaton, Huang/Su, and Breuer/Wolfrum closing out their days with 6-1, 6-2, and 6-1 scores respectively.

Hsieh won her final set, 6-0, and Khelil lost 1-6.

The only set still playing was between Arminak and Shin. Determined to bounce back from her first round performance, Arminak fought and matched Shin stroke for stroke, surprising Shin, who defeated Arminak, 6-1, in their last meeting.

The see-saw battle never saw a lead of more than one game.

The Burbank Tennis Center roared, as both squads gathered in full to loudly cheer and seemingly attempt to one-up each other with support.

It was as if the match’s outcome depended on this final set. With Arminak leading, 6-5, it came down to the sudden-death point of the deuce-plus-one scoring system. If Shin wins, she forces a tiebreaker.

The opponents engaged in a high-quality exchange, with Arminak finding a way to retrieve Shin’s powerful attempted winners.

Her hustle paid off, as Shin’s final attempt dropped into the net, giving Arminak the 7-5 upset, the league’s biggest upset thus far. Arminak’s teammates stormed the court in support.

It was Maranatha’s 8th straight win, leaving them 9-3 overall, 5-0 in league.

Their next match will be their second contest with the Whittier Christian Heralds, whom they defeated, 14-4, in their last meeting.

The match will be on Tuesday, October 11, at 3:30 p.m. at Pasadena High School.