LYNN — The Lynn Classical volleyball team played the first game on its home court in nearly a year and a half Wednesday morning, and the Rams didn’t disappoint. Classical went up against Greater Boston League foe Chelsea, taking home a 3-0 win by set scores of 25-16, 25-13, 25-23.
“The girls have really been working hard coming into this year and they’re getting better every day, and they really showed that (Wednesday),” said Classical coach Frank DeLuca. “We basically only have three kids back from the last time we played, so for us to get some good contributions from new and veteran players was great to see.”
Junior captain Chloe Clement had a huge day for the Rams, contributing in a number of areas with 14 service points, five aces and 12 kills.
“Chloe was outstanding,” DeLuca said. “She’s such a talented player and there’s certainly a lot expected of her, but she has the ability to take over a set at any point, and she did that multiple times (Wednesday).”
Samantha Thoeun added 11 service points and six aces, while Isabella Faessler had seven service points and three aces.
The Rams actually fell behind to start the first set, but Clement wasted no time in digging them out of the hole. Behind eight consecutive service points — including four aces — Clement helped push Classical ahead in the set to get the momentum going. Thoeun chipped in five service points and a kill as the Rams took the set 25-16 and grabbed all the momentum.
Clement continued her strong play in the second set, notching eight kills and five service points to push the Rams out to a big lead. Senior captain Brooke Warren added four service points in the set, and Classical cruised to a 25-13 set victory.
The third set was the tightest battle of the day, and Chelsea actually held a late lead and nearly extended the match. But the Rams battled back to tie the score at 21-21, and then an error by Chelsea gave Classical point and service. Up stepped Pamela Kery, who calmly notched three service points to seal the victory for the Rams.
“We were having issues keeping our serves in bounds during that third set, so I put in Pamela as a new player to switch things up,” said DeLuca. “And boy, did she come up big in the clutch. I was so happy for her, and as a new player that’s the kind of thing that will give her a lot of confidence going forward.”
Classical (2-0) hosts Revere Monday (5:30).
“Revere is always one of the better teams in the league, and we’re very used to them after facing them in the Northeastern Conference for years,” said DeLuca. “We know they’re going to be tough, so we’re going to have to clean up some of our mistakes in terms of execution and decision making. We’re just trying to get better every day, and hopefully that will turn into wins for us.”
