Split results for Dons as they host Santa Ana Tri tournament

The Santa Ana Dons volleyball team hosted a tri-team tournament with the Southwestern Jaguars and the LA Harbor Seahawks. Each team played each other once; Santa Ana split, Southwestern won both of its games, and LA Harbor lost both of its games.

The Dons opened their season with three straight away games before returning home and hosting this tournament.

“We’ve been on the road since we started our season, so it’s nice to be home,” said head coach Myriah Kunipo-Aguirre. “Being right in your own environment, with your fans, also for our new players to experience what it’s like having a home game.”

Freshman middle blocker Olivia Starr is tied for fourth most blocks on the team this season. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

In the first game of the tournament, the Dons faced off against the Jaguars, which ended in a 3-0 [25-20, 25-22, 25-17] loss for the Dons.

Southwestern had consistent control of all three sets. Santa Ana only’s lead was three points to start the first set.

“We just need our consistency, being consistent in our decision making and keeping the ball in play with our hitting,” said Coach Kunipo-Aguirre. “They were able to go on runs on us, and we weren’t able to break that and get the momentum back and the ball back.”

After the loss, the Dons had a quick turnaround before their next game a few hours later.

Outside hitter Lyric Birdsong is one of the few returning sophomores who had to lead the team back on track for the second game.

“I think we just came in with the mindset of: The loss is over with, come into a new game, new tools and just push all the way through,” said Birdsong. “I think just being a leader is not only within yourself, but also everyone around you. Obviously, this is a team sport, so having good self-affirmations and then being able to put that onto my team helps us grow all together.”

Freshman Dayana Avila battling at the net. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

The match against LA Harbor saw better results for Santa Ana as they would flip the script, handily winning 3-1 [25-19, 25-19, 18-25, 25-16].

“The time off that we had in between the matches helped them mentally prepare,” said Coach Kunipo-Aguirre. “We can only control what is on our side of the court, so we let the other team make their own mistakes. We’ve got to focus on our side, that’s the only thing that we can do.”

Another significant sophomore returner is setter Alexis Tortola. As a starter, she is averaging close to four assists per game while splitting time with setter Hadassah Miranda.

“We try to focus on ourselves. Like that third set, we lost it. We were playing their game, and that’s why we lost. But when we play ours, we win, and that’s what we did today,” said Tortola.

The team celebrating their victory after the final point of the fourth set to clinch their first home win of the year. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

Santa Ana continues with a 2-4 record to open the season with their next home game on Wednesday against Rio Hondo at 6 p.m.

“I’m very happy about getting this win,” said Coach Kunipo-Aguirre. “It’s great to end this week; it’s been a long week, and then taking that momentum into Wednesday and Friday, where we play two good teams.”