SWAMPSCOTT— A gritty defensive effort by the Big Blue gave Masconomet a run for their money Thursday evening, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Chieftains won in straight set scores of 25-17, 25-19, and 25-21.
Coming in with a 6-8 record against a 13-4 Masconomet team, Swampscott played like it had nothing to lose. The Big Blue got out to an early 6-3 lead thanks to a number of mishit balls by Masco. The Chieftains shrugged off the sluggish start, however, and stormed back to take an 8-7 lead. Swampscott continued to battle back, tying the contest at 10-10, but Masco overcame the strong start by Big Blue to take the set. Indecisiveness when hitting the ball hurt Swampscott down the stretch and cost them a set they could have stolen from Masco.
The defense for Swampscott really got rocking in the second set. The team went down 3-0 early, but didn’t panic and grabbed a 6-4 lead. Swampscott withstood a number of high powered kill attempts from Masco thanks to superb digs by libero Sofia Comfort and Jamila Oriakhi. Both Comfort and Oriakhi were diving all over the place to keep the ball in play, and were successful in keeping the ball alive for their team most of the night. Comfort said after the game that it doesn’t matter how it’s done, but the point needs to be kept alive at all costs.
“We just put everything into it, hustle as hard as you can, don’t let any ball drop,” she said. “Even if you have to topple one of your teammates, you just have to do anything you can against a team like that.”
Comfort and company recorded a number of digs and saves that kept Swampscott alive in the second set, but Masconomet survived the back and forth duel and pulled away late again, winning by a six point margin. Comfort had 12 receptions in the match and added 6 digs. Teammate Caterina Kelly played well offensively for Swampscott as well, recording 6 kills for Big Blue.
The Big Blue never quit despite being on the verge of a sweep. In fact, the third set was the team’s best in the match. The defense continued to play well and the team found themselves amidst another back-and-forth battle. After a Masco ball grazed the net and began to come down at an awkward angle on Swampscott’s side, Oriakhi didn’t give up on the play and made a diving save to keep the ball alive. A few hits later, the Big Blue got the point to go up 12-11 thanks to Oriakhi’s efforts. She totalled 11 digs and 11 assists to go along with four aces.
Oriakhi decided to put the team on her back with a series of five serves in a row that got Swampscott out to a 17-13 lead, forcing Masco to call its first timeout of the game. However, Big Blue’s Achilles heel in the match was closing sets, and it unfortunately showed again as Masconomet stormed back after the timeout to shut down Big Blue’s comeback to take the third and final set by a four point margin.
Swampscott Head Coach Ryan Celli noted that he knew this match would be an uphill battle, but he was proud of the way his team hung in and played Masco tight.
“We fought, I thought we played a really solid match,” Celli said. “Defensively, we picked things up as the match went on. Defense is what we’re trying to build this program on and I’m really proud of this team.”
Big Blue falls to 6-9 on the season, but after a hard fought match against Masconomet and a straight set win over Salem this past Wednesday, the program is trending upwards. The team’s playoff fate will be left up to the MIAA power rankings, but Comfort hopes to keep the energy up heading into the last three games of the season.
“Take the lows, shake them off, and take the highs and bring them into every game and bring that hustle and bring that energy,” she said.
Swampscott’s next match is on Monday, October 24 when the Big Blue travel to Peabody to take on the Tanners before closing out the season against Lynn Classical and Marblehead.
