PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick volleyball team battled tooth and nail with Catholic Central League rival Austin Prep Thursday evening, but the Crusaders eventually came up just short in a five-set marathon match, falling 3-2 to the Cougars at home. The set scores were 19-25, 25-17, 29-31, 25-23, 16-18.
Junior setter Jessica Furtado had a big game with 52 assists, while senior captain Annie Murphy finished the match with 11 kills.
“It was such a close, evenly matched game between the two teams,” said Fenwick coach Samantha Trant Kelly. “Austin Prep has a great squad and they’re well-coached, so we knew they’d be tough. We went back and forth all night, but in the end we just made a few too many unforced errors and that’s what did us in.”
While the entire match was a back-and-forth affair, the critical period was the stretch from the third set to the end of the match. With a team needing to win a set by at least two points, the two sides went well over the 25-point threshold in the third set before Austin Prep barely pulled out the win. Fenwick then rallied to narrowly win the fourth set before Austin Prep was able to capitalize on a few Crusaders mistakes and win the fifth and final set.
“Austin Prep played their tails off and they were able to take advantage of the unforced errors on our side,” said Trant Kelly. “Our girls fought hard and made plays at critical points, but at the same time we had moments where the pressure was a bit too much and it caused us to make unforced errors.”
Fenwick now sits at 5-2 on the season as it begins the home stretch, with four games remaining on the Crusaders’ schedule. Trant Kelly is hoping that the competitive fire from this game will bleed through into the rest of the season and beyond for her team.
“I told the girls in the huddle at the end of the match, especially the seniors and the captains, that the competitiveness they showed in that match is what is laying the groundwork for how our team will grow in the coming years. They set the example for how we want to approach every game, and hopefully that will continue throughout the rest of the season.”
The Crusaders are back in action Tuesday evening (5) against Matignon.
