LYNN — A slow start would not get in the way of Lynn English’s volleyball team Thursday night at St. Mary’s High School as the Bulldogs defeated Lynn Tech by way of three-set wins in a row after dropping the first in the first round of the Lynn City Volleyball Tournament.
The first set did not go the way that Mike Haddad envisioned, as his team fell behind early and gave the first set to Tech.
“Consistency has been something we’ve struggled with,” Haddad said. “We have had really great players every season, but we lack consistency.”
After that first set, however, Haddad certainly got the consistency he had been looking for from his players as they went on to win the next three sets in dominant fashion. English cruised in the second set, winning 25-4 and coasted through set three with a score of 25-9, and capped off the incredible run with a fourth set score of 25-12.
“After a few missed receives, we got in our heads thinking like ‘it’s done for us, but after that first set, it was a good reset for us,” said Senior captain and Libero Sherlyn Morales.
The senior leadership and team experience was a key factor in the Bulldogs’ ability to bounce back after a tough first-set loss. Eleven of the team’s 14 players are seniors, and it is a group that has been battle tested.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of experience and have had a lot of better players than us show us the tricks, so it comes down to us being comfortable on the court now,” said Senior captain Heady Acosta.
Acosta and Morales, along with the third senior captain, Doungchan Chin, were great in the serving department, racking up a number of aces and putting the ball in difficult spots for Tech. Another huge factor in English’s victory was team communication. Acosta attributed the first set loss to the players not talking enough on the court.
“It really came down to communication the most,” Acosta said. “We have received harder serves than that, and it was just a lack of communication of us calling ‘mine’ and making sure we know who is covering what.”
The communication errors were certainly put aside after the first match, however as the Bulldogs were able to work better collectively and looked like an unstoppable force after flipping the switch between the first and second set.
“Communication was really up from everyone on the team,” Haddad said. “I was really proud of the way they played today.”
English got their first win of the season Thursday evening after falling to Malden three sets to one. The team is now 1-1 on the season, and Haddad hopes that this win can propel the team’s confidence to another level.
“We’ve talked a lot about how you have to win the mental game before you win the actual game,” said Haddad. “In seasons past, when you lose two, three, four games in a row, you see the effect it has on the players. My goal is to get them to feel this burst of confidence that they are getting from this win and to keep reminding them what that mentality is like.”
English will take on rival Lynn Classical in the Lynn City Volleyball Championship Friday at 5 p.m at St. Mary’s High School.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
