English volleyball defeats Classical

LYNN – It doesn?t matter what sport it is. Any time Lynn Classical and Lynn English meet, there is a certain passion that can be seen and felt.This was again the case on Monday evening at the Cavanagh Field House volleyball court as the Bulldogs put a poor first set behind them before winning the next three to defeat the visiting Rams, 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19).?We came out flat to start the match and it showed,” explained English coach Laurie Wentzell. “The girls weren?t playing like they?re capable of, they were not communicating and balls were dropping when they shouldn?t have.”The play began to even out at the start of the second set with the teams alternating points until the score read 8-8. That?s when the hosts kicked their game into high gear.The Bulldogs scored five straight points, including three kills from Keri Bryson, before extending the lead to 17-7. Classical showed signs of life with three straight points to cut the lead to 18-12, the latter two on back-to-back aces from Lindsey Tobin.English managed to keep a four-point lead until Ivy Martin?s ace trimmed the lead to 23-20 but Martin?s ensuing service error followed by a Lisbeth Hernandez kill ended the set.Four aces from Bryson (nine total) allowed the Bulldogs to open up a 7-0 lead to begin the third set, leading to a Rams timeout.Things wouldn?t improve for the visitors as Tiffany Caban tacked on two straight aces to extend the lead to 14-3.English stretched the lead to as high as 13 before Classical finally mustered some momentum, trimming the lead to 22-17 following a kill from Michelle Nwogu and an ace from Jaheirie Collazo.Hernandez (15 kills) wrapped things up again with a hammer shot.The final set proved more competitive as the teams remained within four points until the Bulldogs won an eventful rally that saw Hernandez and Martin get several touches before the former earned a kill. Hernandez followed with a deceitful drop shot that caught the Classical defense off guard, giving the hosts a 13-7 lead.The Rams tried in vain to fight back, getting the score to within two (18-16) after a Nwogu kill, but English held steady down the stretch, getting a game-ending kill from Bryson, who finished with 8 total.?Everybody played a great game today from Keri and Lisbeth to Sabrina Uribe, who filled in after an injury; they all played well,” said Wentzell. “It?s always nice to beat Classical, it?s such a great rivalry and pretty much all the girls know each other and are friends.”On the other end of the spectrum, Classical came out strong before faltering.?We didn?t do much right after the first set,” explained Rams coach Frank DeLuca.He continued, “I thought our serving was good throughout the match but other than that, we were disappointed with our effort.”Classical got four aces from Tobin as well as three apiece from Nwogu and Martin.