LYNN — The Classical volleyball team is no stranger to playing in close games this season. Thursday’s Northeastern Conference matchup with Swampscott was no different, but in the end the Rams finished things off strong with a 3-2 win on their home floor.
“We’re getting used to playing these,” Classical coach Frank DeLuca said. “It seems like every game we’re going five sets or four sets. We showed a lot of mental toughness to come back and not give up. Now we understand that we can always come back. We really battled through because a couple times there it was close. I used all my timeouts (Thursday) to try to change momentum.”
That momentum swung back and forth throughout the match but the Rams made just enough plays to improve to 8-1 on the year. Cherish Nwoko had an impressive 11 kills and had two of the Rams’ six total blocks. Pamela Diaz led the Rams with 11 digs while Amber Crayton added six assists.
Swampscott rallied back after losses in sets No. 2 and No. 3 but ultimately couldn’t finish the job. Annika Laudemann led the Big Blue with 10 kills. Cassidy Ryan had a big night with 20 kills.
“I’m really proud of how we battled,” first-year Swampscott coach Emily Hollingsworth said. “Being a brand new coach I know they’re still getting the feel of me. But the girls battled. I’m really happy to see that, but we just have trouble finishing the game. They really do work hard, we just have to get to that point where we finish. We have to bring more.”
The Big Blue got off to a promising start in the first set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead before a Classical timeout. The Rams started to slowly climb back into things from there eventually tying things up at 18-18. But Swampscott finished strong, grabbing the first set 25-22.
Classical responded well in the next two sets. The Rams controlled the second set from start to finish in a 25-13 win.
Things got closer in the third set. Classical had built a narrow 14-12 lead midway through the set before the Rams started to pull away. With Jean Gupton-Morrison, serving the Rams went on a 5-0 rally to go ahead 19-12. Classical held on from there, winning the set 25-18 and taking a 2-1 lead.
Both teams went back and forth in the fourth set, leading to a late 24-24 tie. But with their backs against the wall, the Big Blue took the final two points to earn a 26-24 win and force a fifth set.
Diaz got things started in the fifth set with three service points to put the Rams ahead 3-0. The Rams extended their lead to 7-2 before a timeout helped Swampscott settle down. The Big Blue cut the Rams’ lead to just one point twice, but couldn’t complete the comeback. After a Classical timeout, Kiara Edmonds notched two service points to give Classical the 15-10 win.
“I think the main thing was our timeout in the fifth set,” DeLuca said. “We had made a couple really bad plays, some unforced errors. They were getting kind of down and I said, ‘forget it, it’s over and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just get the next point.’ We got the next point and then Kiara stepped to the line and got the last three service points.”
Swampscott (2-6) travels Salem Friday (5:30) while the Rams have some time off before traveling to Beverly (5:30) next Wednesday.
“I don’t love playing in these close games,” DeLuca said. “But the one thing is I just don’t want them to put their heads down. We have to keep our heads up, keep fighting and good things will happen. That was the thing I really liked about (Thursday). They fought through some bad plays and kept playing tough.”