Oilers Give Barons Volleyball Team Some Trouble

By Mallory Trott, Staff writer

On Tuesday March 10^th, the Fountain Valley’s boys volleyball team took on the Huntington Beach Oilers with an overall loss.  In the first match, Senior Dillon Emery gave a great performance with 7 kills, and impressive serves were made by senior Chris Gierhart who served four in a row with one ace against the Oilers. The first match\’s final score was 25-23 with a victory for the Barons.

The second match was not as well won as the first.  The Barons battled hard against the Oilers in this close match. Junior Karl Hanxleden, senior Ryan Sharpe, and Gierhart all had blocks and kills.  However, improvement at the net and rallies from the back row players were just not enough to give the Barons the win.  The Oilers won with a 25-22 point victory, which brought the Oilers and the Barons to a tie.

Unfortunately, match three was not the best the boys have played, and the Oilers took the victory with a final score of 25-19. There were some highlights in the match for Fountain Valley, though. Senior Brian Huffman had two serves and a kill in a row against the Oilers, and Emery had six kills and Sharpe had two kills.  The Baron boys were jumping high and hitting hard, but Huntington Beach definitely caused some trouble for the Barons.

The match only went further downhill. The boys started the fourth match with a great desire to win, but started to fall apart in the end.  With the score 4-4 in the beginning, there were a few errors, and it was 14-6 the Oilers.

A time-out was called by boys head coach Todd Hansen to pick the boys up. Many substitutes and kills later, the Barons picked up their game to bring the score 19-15 HB.

Emery with 7 kills kept along with Huffman with a kill, and a block kept hope up for the Barons. Gierhart had three serves in a row with two aces bringing the score 22-20, but it still was not enough  With the game nearing a close, the Barons struggled to finish strong.  The Oilers won the fourth match 25-23, which gave Huntington Beach the overall victory.

Despite the loss, the Baron boys are determined to remain strong.

“We need to stay positive and keep our heads up,” says Varsity volleyball player Riley Fehser, junior. “We [will] have a great season!”