The City of College Station Recreation Maroon league coed volleyball team, How I Set Your Mother, HISYM, smashed its opponent, Can you Dig it, CYDI, in three sets, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Lincoln Recreation Center.
After opening the season on Sept. 9 with its only loss, HISYM quickly turned its sour start around with an 11-game winning streak for a current record of 11-1, making HISYM No. 1 in the league heading into the final two matches.
The squad has played together for over six years, meeting through high school and church volleyball leagues, captain Caitlin Alvarado said. While the team occasionally gets extra reps in the gym, most of their preparation comes from the nearly seven years of playing together.
“We just come out and play,” Cody Bennett said. “We don’t really have formal practices for this team.”
In the opening set of the match, HISYM broke a 1-1 tie with a 5-0 run fueled by aces and kills to build a 6-1 lead. It maintained the lead, closing out the set with an ace from Zach Griggs, 25-13.
Madison Batson, who was named MVP of the game, opened Set 2 by serving 11 straight points. The run included five aces by Batson, a kill from James Chin just shy of the 10-foot line and a solo block by Griggs. The run gave HISYM a double-digit cushion on the way to a final score of 25-10.
The third set moved quickly as Griggs and Batson dominated from the outside. Alvarado kept rallies alive with precise sets and tactical serves. A combination of short and deep tips forced CYDI out of system, not allowing it to set up for a hit. Batson finished the match with a kill for another 25-10 victory.
HISYM carried just six players into the match, leaving no options for substitutions. Every point was played with the same rotation, which forced the lineup to conserve energy through the sweep.
The team managed momentum swings by going back to the fundamentals. When rallies began to slip, players reset with steady passing, shuffled positions and reminded each other to relax — habits built from the team’s chemistry, Batson said.
According to Griggs, the league serves as a chance to experiment with new skills in live matches. The focus is to have fun and work on running shoot sets as part of the offense.
While the standings reflect consistent high-level, players agreed the league is a way to stay active and enjoy time on the court with friends, Bennett explained.
“It’s just another excuse to come play,” Bennett said.
HISYM will face Mayhem for their next match on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Lincoln Recreational Center in the Purple Gym.
Carly Culbreth is a journalism junior and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.
