LYNN — The Lynn Classical Rams are on a historic run, winning all eight of their matches after a home win against Somerville Wednesday evening. Not only are they 8-0, but have yet to lose a single set, sweeping every opponent 3-0.
“Honestly, it’s kind of a surprise. I thought we’d be pretty good this year, but I didn’t know how good we’d be coming out of the gate,” Rams’ coach Chris LeBlanc said. “A lot of the mistakes we made last year, we grew out of and are turning those negatives into positives this year. I’m very happy with the way the girls worked to get to where we are now.”
LeBlanc believes a reason for the historic start is due to the team being another year older – and wiser.
“Last year, the team was so young. We would find ourselves in difficult spots and just didn’t know how to get out of them. This year, they’ve matured and started to find ways to get out of these tough spots,” he said. “We’re falling behind every now and then in a couple of sets and, inevitably, the team last year would have given up, but this year, the team is fighting for every point and every set.”
“The biggest thing for this team is its mentality. Between this year and last year, that’s one of the biggest differences,” LeBlanc said. “I don’t think last year they had the belief that they could go out and win in those difficult spots. This year, they do.”
In volleyball, losing a set happens – unless you’re a Ram. Classical has won 24 straight sets to start the season.
“We’ve been really consistent. We haven’t run into those stretches where we play badly for an extended period,” LeBlanc said. “It’s going to come off eventually. It catches up to everybody. We’re just finding ways to manage it and in past seasons where we may have allowed opponents to run off six or seven points in a row and put us in a tough spot, this year, we’re stopping it at two or three and then getting the ball back and countering it with our own run.”
LeBlanc has had some strong teams during his tenure at Classical, including a group that only lost three games. That said, he believes he has something special in 2023.
“This group of kids is in a better position to do something as a team than any other team I’ve been associated with,” LeBlanc said. “Our best player from a couple of years ago was Chloe Clement who’s now playing at Suffolk. We finished 17-3 that year with Chloe. These kids as a unit are better. It’s a better unit. We don’t have a singular star that my past teams might have had, but from top to bottom, everybody can contribute. It’s fun to see.”
When asked if this is the best start he’s ever had, there was no hesitation.
“100 percent and it’s not even close. Not losing a set is absurd. It’s coming, and when it does, it’s all about how we react to it,” LeBlanc said.
Classical has two captains, senior Linda Jallow and junior Amanda Hughes. LeBlanc praised his leaders as “everything you want from a captain.”
“Linda Jallow is our middle blocker and is having a really good season. I’ll say one of the reasons why we have made this step further is because of the improvement in her game,” LeBlanc said. “I would say middle was a weakness for us last year, and now it’s a strength and she’s a big part of that.”
“Amanda Hughes is an outside hitter and is super steady and a great leader,” LeBlanc said. “She always puts the team above herself and goes out on the court and grinds.”
Despite murmurs of what’s to come in the postseason, LeBlanc just wants his team to remain focused on the next game.
Once the tournament comes, then he wants to test his team – which has just one senior – against the best.
“It’s hard for GBL (Greater Boston League) teams to make runs in the tournament. Last year, Revere went 20-0 and were a force, but lost in the first round,” LeBlanc said. “I want to get in and see what we can do. The good thing for us is we’re still young. We’re only going to lose one starter off this team. I fully expect if we can keep the chemistry together, we’re going to have the same type of discussion next season. Hopefully, with another year of maturity and experience together, we can again see what we really can do.”
