Padua’s varsity volleyball team came into the game on Thursday night, September 22,  with revenge on their mind against one of their biggest rivals, the Ursuline Raiders. Last year Padua played against Ursuline 3 times and lost each time. Padua was determined to win and managed to defeat the Raiders in 3 games; 25-18 in first set, 25-18 in the second set, and 25-17 in the third set.

“Going into the game, I was really nervous to see how our team would react. I knew from the beginning that we were going to come out really strong and ready to play, but we lost to Ursuline all three times we met up with them last year, and that can really mess with someone’s mindset,” sophomore, Cassidy McClintock said. “We worked extremely hard in practice the week leading up to the big game, so while I was pretty nervous, I was more excited for PAVB to show everyone what we are and what we can do, by coming out tough against a team that’s beat us.”

Although Padua lost two players who were seniors last year, Lauren Mellor and Meghan Barnett, they were still able to come out very strong. Ursuline lost six players from last year, so they had to rebuild their team. One of Padua’s volleyball managers, Felicia Terinoni, said she was very nervous for the game because she didn’t know how the Ursuline Raiders were going to play without their graduated players.

The first match started off with a powerful swing from freshman Jessica Molen that got blocked by Ursuline player Abigail Rzucidlo (’19), giving Ursuline the first point. That lead for Ursuline didn’t last as Padua came back with a 11-6 lead. The Pandas had a huge lead at 17-7, but the Raiders got back on their game and tried to catch up to the Pandas. With the Pandas only 1 point until a win, it was a bit difficult for the Raiders to try to catch up. The Pandas won the game with an ace from Jessica Molen (’20).

The two teams exchanged points in the beginning of the second set with scores of 4-4 then 5-5 then 6-6. Ella Welsh (’17),  tipped the ball straight down breaking the tie and giving Padua a lead halfway through the game. Padua and Ursuline tied again at 14-14 until a kill from Ella Welsh broke the tie. Emily Jarome (’18),  led Padua with 3 points with her back to back serving, and junior Claire Bisson (’18) spiked the ball putting Padua in the lead. Padua won the set with a tip from Taylor Valetti making the score 25-18.

The final game started off with ties between the two teams but Padua was able to break away and get ahead. Senior Ella Welsh pulled Padua ahead with a big block for the lead 7-6. It did not stop there as senior Maddie Judge’s serving streak gave Padua a big lead making the score 12-7. Ursuline junior, Taylor Wright (’18), gave the Raiders a point with her powerful kill.  Wright didn’t stop there; with Padua ahead 21-9, she was able to give Ursuline some points making the score 21-11. The Raiders did their best to catch up when Ursuline sophomore Abigail Rzucidlo got a kill, the Pandas were still ahead, 21-13. The Pandas were in the lead but they called a timeout with the score 21-15. Emily Jarome won the match for the Pandas with a kill, the final score was 25-17. Padua won the game in 3 sets against Ursuline.

This was the sixth win for the Pandas but they have many more games to play before the state tournament. Last year, they made it to the semifinals and lost, making them play for third against rivals, Ursuline.