Classical volleyball season ends

LYNN – The greatest season the Lynn Classical volleyball program has ever had in terms of wins came to a screeching halt Thursday as the No. 5 seeded Rams were upset by No. 12 Central Catholic, 3-1, in the opening round of the Division 1 North tournament.View Photo Gallery The Raiders victory was an ‘upset’ only in terms of seeding as their 10-9 record came out of the powerful Merrimack Valley Conference but the Rams (16-5) proved to be every bit as talented as Central before running out of steam after splitting the first two games.”I am so proud of these girls,” Classical coach Frank DeLuca said. “They have made quite an impression in their four years have our seniors. We played very well but (Central) is a good team and I think we got a little tired in the last couple of games.”The Raiders came in as the underdogs on the seeding chart but their height advantage at the net was evident as they settled down in the final two games, led by middle hitter Erica Hadad. The 6-2 sophomore was nearly automatic over the final two games as Central’s hitting percentage went through the roof after making nearly 30 unforced errors in the first two games.”I was very impressed with the way that Classical played,” Raiders coach Gaston Paris said. “The last couple of games we got back to focusing on our hitting percentage and not trying to spike everything through the floor and show our power. A lot of that goes to Erica. She’s our leader in the middle.”The Raiders hitting dominance was on full display in the opening game as they led right from the start, opening up a lead that was as big as 21-11 before Classical finally began to get a foothold. The Rams cut the lead to four at 23-19 before Central was able to close it out, 25-20.Game two was a seesaw affair right from the get-go. The teams traded the lead twice and it was tied 10 times as neither team could get a lead bigger than two for most of the set.The Rams’ defense came up huge, keeping several balls alive before their front line, led by Soneta Srey, could put them away. Classical led 3-1 early before the Raiders fought back to lead at 5-3 on back-to-back aces from Victoria Nassar.Classica responded as Srey scored three of the next five Rams points to give her team a 10-8 lead. The Raiders scored six of the next nine points to retake the lead at 14-12 as it looked like the Rams were in trouble,The Raiders still had a 16-15 lead when Classical called timeout to regroup. The move paid off immediately as a Srey spike tied it and then she repeated it on the next point to give the Rams a 17-16 lead.Back-to-back errors from Central preceded kills by Srey and Cassie D’Agostino to give Classical a 21-16 lead. The Raiders would fight back to within three twice before Classical’s Ivy Martin put away set point for a 25-20 win to tie the match.”We talked after the first game and said that we could play with them,” DeLuca said. “We just had to stop making the unforced errors.”Game three was now pivotal and it was tight early with Central having a 4-3 lead. That’s when the Raiders dominance at the net began to wear down the Rams defense.With it 9-7 and Classical serving, the Raiders proceeded to embark on a 9-2 run that made it 18-9 as Emma Geary and Hadad were forces on the wings for Central. The Raiders eventually finished the set on a 16-5 run that gave them a 25-12 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.With their backs squarely against the wall, the Rams needed a fast start in the fourth. What they got, instead, was a steady dose of Raiders power.Central ripped out of the gates, taking a 6-2 lead. Classical got back within two at 7-5 but that was as close as it would be the rest of the way. The Raiders proceeded to go on a 15-4 run that blew the match open as they would cruise to a 25-12 win that closed out the match and Classical’s season.