LYNN — It was a tug of war between the Rams and Spartans volleyball teams Thursday night at St. Mary’s High School, with both teams battling it out in the Lynn City Volleyball Tournament, and, in the end, Classical was able to outlast St. Mary’s three sets to two in an epic back and forth duel.
The first set would pace the way the match played out as Classical took the lead early, but St. Mary’s quickly tied. Neither team could get out to a substantial lead, but Classical ultimately came out of the first set on top by a score of 25-22.
The second set would swing in St. Mary’s favor as the Spartans got out to a strong start, forcing Classical Head Coach Chris LeBlanc to call a timeout. The Rams came out strong after the pause of play, though, and were able to get within three, making the score 21-18. St. Mary’s was able to close out the second set and hold off the push by the Rams with a four to nothing run, winning the set 25-18 and tying the match at one a piece.
Though Classical lost the second set, they remained composed to start the third and couldn’t have done it without sophomore Caitlin Kelley and her serves.
Kelley and the Rams started the third set on a ten to nothing run. Time and time again, Kelley would serve the ball with the perfect combination of force and precision onto St. Mary’s side of the court. Her serves would completely disrupt St. Mary’s operation on defense and would continuously put the Spartans in difficult receiving situations throughout not only the third set but the entire match.
“I just trust that I know how to serve,” said Kelley. “Every single serve, I take a breath before I do it, and I just know that I can serve.”
LeBlanc credited their run in the third set to Kelley’s outstanding play.
“She’s kind of our serving specialist right now,” he said. “She is going to grow into more than that, but right now, she’s our specialist, and she was awesome. At the start of the second game, I looked up, and it was ten to nothing, and it was all her.”
St. Mary’s would push back after Classical’s 10-0 flurry to make the score 11-7, but Classical would close it out and take set three 25-18.
By the fourth set, the match became almost predictable as the teams alternated set wins. Facing elimination, St. Mary’s held a 9-7 lead in the fourth set and would extend their lead by going on a 10 to four run, giving them a 19-11 advantage. Classical had a hard time getting the ball over the net both on receives and serves, which ended up costing them the fourth set by a score of 25-22.
“We had a few too many errors,” LeBlanc said. “I was counting, we had too many errors, but overall we were putting the ball in places where they had to move their feet, making them make plays instead of hitting it right at them.”
With St. Mary’s fourth set win, the match went to a deciding fifth set where it was a first to fifteen contest, and the match got the ending that it deserved. Classical jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held the lead for most of the set before St. Mary’s came storming back to make it a one point game at 14-13. Classical, wanting to avoid a win by two scenario, sent a spike whizzing past Spartan Defenders that landed in the back right corner of the court, giving Classical the win in what could already be one of the best games of the year.
What made the victory even more special was the fact that the team graduated ten seniors and played with only four returners, to which Coach LeBlanc stated that even those returners were learning to play new positions.
“For this team to be able to pull through that, I am so proud of them. Even the returners are playing in spots that they didn’t play last year. For them to come out and play with that kind of determination and that kind of grit, I couldn’t be more proud.”
With the win, Classical gets a date with city rival Lynn English on Friday at 5 p.m at St. Mary’s High School that will determine who will be crowned the best volleyball team in Lynn.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
