WINTHROP — The Lynn Classical volleyball team got off to a strong start, leading to a 3-0 win over host Winthrop Tuesday night. The Rams won by set scores of 25-11, 25-19 and 25-20.
Classical’s Pamela Diaz had 14 service points on the night while Kiara Edmonds had a clutch five service points, including two aces, to finish off the third set. Skylar Crayton had four kills while Jean Gupton had two kills for the Rams.
Rams head coach Frank DeLuca was happy to see his team battle back late in the game after trailing much of the third set.
“I thought that we played really well the first two sets and what I really like is that we were down in the third set and fought through,” DeLuca said. “They came back. We didn’t play a smart game and that was the problem other than that they really battled. There were some really good volleys back and forth between the two teams. I just think we made some of the better plays and a few more to win.
“We usually are the opposite,” DeLuca added. “We usually start slow. So we just kept talking about coming out strong and they did that. Winthrop was really coming on the last two sets and they had control of the third one. I’m just really glad the girls didn’t quit or give up.”
First-year Viking head coaches Rachel Delsolio and Lauren Kostegan want to see Winthrop communicate better moving forward but were happy to see them fight for all three sets.
“They are all very good players, it’s just trying to work together as a team and communicating more on the court,” Delsolio said. “One of our biggest struggles is getting everyone that is on the court to talk. We are taking each match as it goes and seeing our strengths and weaknesses so we can work on it in practice.
“The one thing with our team is that they don’t give up so they will push back,” Delsolio added. “There were times tonight we took leads or tied, we just need to be more consistent going through the whole match.”
The first set started with several back-and-forth volleys before Classical took an 11-7 lead. From there the Rams got hot, cruising to a 25-11 win with the set ending on a nice kill by Keysha Chavannes.
In the second set, both teams once again battled, eventually leading to a 17-16 Classical lead before the Rams once again pulled away. The Rams would go on to win the set 25-19.
In the third and final set of the game it was Winthrop that got off to a hot start. The Vikings took an early 10-5 lead before a Classical timeout. After the timeout, the Rams came back, leading to a 20-20 tie with Edmonds serving. From there the Rams scored five straight points to seal the victory and improve to 5-2 on the season.
After a day off, the Rams will travel to Swampscott Thursday (5:15).
“Swampscott beat us last year so we are looking forward to go in there and give it a shot,” DeLuca said. “They always have a real good team and a ton of height so hopefully we can battle that and volley a little bit with them because that what we do best.”
