Boys varsity volleyball secures win against Weymouth
The boys varsity volleyball team won in three sets against Weymouth in their first home game.
The boys varsity volleyball team went up against the Weymouth Wildcats on Tuesday, April 4 in the Schluntz Gymnasium for their second game of the season. They won in three sets, making it a landslide victory for the Warriors.
The first set began with the Wildcats scoring the first two points, but the Warriors quickly began catching up as they sent the ball cleanly over the net. The Wildcats missed, giving the Warriors their first point of the game.
The Warriors then began gaining a lead by spiking the ball to the back of the court. After the Wildcats hit the ball out of bounds and another player saved it, the Warriors sent it rapidly back over the net bringing the score to 5-3.
The Wildcats began making more blocks on the Warriors’ offense and also received two more points on the serve, making the score 6-5. The Warriors counteracted by sending several serves to the back of the court that the Wildcats were unable to hit.
The Wildcats did not let the Warriors’ significant lead derail them and attempted to step up their offense, but the ball went out of bounds bringing the score to 11-6 around half way through the set.
Multiple Wildcats players made their last point of the set after diving for the ball and sending it over the net, but the Warriors made the next point leaving the score at 25-14 at the end of the first set.
At the start of the second set, the Warriors scored four consecutive points. However, the Warriors then hit the ball out of bounds, giving the Wildcats their first point.
The crowd cheered and shouted from the bleachers as the Warriors dominated throughout the second set. The Wildcats fought hard, but the ball hit the ceiling several times, causing them to lose valuable points.
By the end of the second set the score rested at 25-14. According to senior and captain Charlie Perdue, the victory in the second set revitalized the team for the third period.
“In games like these, the team can get a little tired and low energy, but I think winning the second period really gave the team some energy and allowed us to go into the next period strong,” Perdue said.
The beginning of the third set began unlike the others with a close score that saw each team trying to pull ahead and establish their lead. The Warriors broke the stalemate with a series of strong spikes aimed at the lower court. By the end of the barrage of spikes, the score rested at 8-4.
After a series of intense rallies the score was 24-10, with the Warriors needing one more point to end the match. After a technical call that postponed the Warriors victory, Brookline ended the game with a strong spike down the middle.
According to Perdue, despite their victory, the team is always looking to improve their game.
“I can’t stress this enough, there are a lot of things we have to work on—our passing, our communication, our calling, being in the right positions. Overall, I think we could have gone harder and gone out there with more energy,” Perdue said.
According to junior varsity coach Justin Soohoo, although the team came out on top this time, there are still a lot of improvements that can be made.
“We won but I feel like we could have handled our energy better, with taking care of the stuff that we could handle. I have pretty high expectations; I think all the coaches do and I don’t think we met them today,” Soohoo said. “We served pretty aggressively and our passing started off a little slow, but our serve receive was a lot better towards the end of the match. We also have a pretty young team, so I feel like our inexperience is showing a little bit. We have a very talented team; they just haven’t quite put it all together yet.”
According to freshman and center Alec Smagula, the team needs to prepare for their upcoming game against Needham and cannot let their momentum stop here.
“It feels great to have a big win as our season opener, but we have a big game against Needham on Thursday,” Smagula said. “They’re the top ranked team in the state so we have to improve our game if we’re going to beat them and continue to win.”
