The St. Mary’s volleyball team grabbed the first two sets and appeared to be coasting to a victory Tuesday night, but Austin Prep had other plans. The Spartans struggled over the final three sets, eventually falling by a score of 3-2. The set scores were 25-16, 25-20, 16-25, 10-25, 13-15.
“It was definitely a frustrating way to lose, but we played well for a good portion of the match,” said Spartans coach Mike McDuffee. “We were competitive in every set except the fourth one, where we just weren’t in it and had a tough time. You can’t take off an entire set and expect to win the match. But hats off to Austin Prep, they have a good team and they made us pay for our mistakes.”
Volleyball is a game of runs, and Wednesday’s match for St. Mary’s was a case study in that fact. The Spartans started off hot and jumped out to a lead, handily taking the first two sets. But Austin Prep started to gain some momentum near the end of the second set, and in the third set the Cougars kicked it into high gear. Once Austin Prep took the third set, the momentum just poured right over into the fourth set.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum, and once it turns it’s tough to come back,” said McDuffee.
As the Spartans begin to settle into their season, McDuffee knows the team isn’t a finished product yet. But there isn’t too far to go.
“As a team, we’re in a great spot culturally and that really can’t be overstated,” said McDuffee. “We have some holes in the lineup and we have some technical issues to work through, but we have a lot of pieces in place. We’ve just got to keep working.”
After a stretch of three matches in five days, St. Mary’s (1-3) will finally get some time on the practice court this week. The Spartans will return to action Friday evening (5) on the road against Cardinal Spellman.
“We’ve just got some work to do,” said McDuffee. “We’ll go in, reinforce the fundamentals and try to clean up the mistakes that are hurting us. We’ve still got plenty of room to grow.”
—
VOLLEYBALL
Bishop Fenwick 3, Arlington Catholic 1
The Crusaders came out on top via set scores of 25-17, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15.
Annie Murphy led the offensive attack for Fenwick with 15 kills, while Jessica Furtado had a huge game with 38 assists.
“It was a big game against a rival, so it’s always great to come away with a win in that situation,” said Fenwick coach Samantha Trant Kelly. “Both teams fought hard the whole way, and in the end I think our offensive attack was what put us over the edge.”
Bishop Fenwick travels to Bishop Stang Saturday morning (11:30).
