With the season coming to a close, the Trojans swept Mission College, effectively winning all of their scheduled match-ups.

“We played [Mission] a few times before so we knew what their strategy was,” Skyline’s outside hitter Claire Hardiman said about the match-up.

During the first set, Mission seemed to be adamant on winning, playing a “tug-of-war” set against Skyline but it did not take long for the Trojans to gain momentum. After several lead changes, the Trojans took it for the last time and didn’t look back, ending the set at a score of 25-19. Skyline’s Middle Blocker Jaichelle White was the mainstay of their defense during this set.

On the second set, it is purely an exhibition set for Skyline as they went on a 12-to-1 run. Mission’s defense was nowhere to be found as the Trojans returned everything they were presented with. Skyline’s players were dominating as Mission’s defense couldn’t do much to stop them.

Skyline knew the match-up very well and decided to give their reserves more time to play. The Trojans faced Mission twice prior to the game and won both times. If the offense was not enough, Skyline’s defense was the antithesis of Mission’s. Skyline was blocking efficiently and effectively that night.

The centerpiece of Skyline’s defense was middle block Raja Elliott. Her performance was essential to Skyline’s victory because of her blocking. She was stone-cold every time she scored.

“At a young age, my parents called it a ‘poker face,” Elliott said.

With the third set, a frustrated Mission team had a chance to win. They seemed revitalized on the do or die set, replicating the first set. Again, Skyline was there to stop to them.

Ultimately, Skyline swept Mission out of the games as they are the dominant team both statistically and in division. Skyline knew the match-up very well. As a result, they gave their reserves more minutes during the game and it paid off, showcasing Skyline’s future talents.

“Today we wanted to give our non-starters a chance to see what they can bring to the team and I think they did really well,” Skyline’s opposite Marisa Kealoha said.