BELMONT — We are officially in postseason play, and when you make it there, anything can happen.
The No. 34 St. Mary’s Spartans showed they weren’t ready to go home, beating No. 31 Watertown, 3-2, in an epic comeback (25-17, 14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7).
The Spartans trailed 2-1 entering the fourth set, and were on the brink of elimination. Watertown found itself up 20-15, which sparked head coach Ivanna Nunez to call a timeout.
“I think they were playing scared and I think that’s what was getting to me at that moment,” she said. “They know they had this and I think the fear kind of prevented them from doing what they know they can do.”
That fear wore off, as St. Mary’s responded with a 10-3 run to win the set, 25-23.
Watertown started the fifth set with two quick points, but the Spartans rallied back with an emphatic 12-2 run before taking the set — and match — 15-7 after an ace from Ellie Fox.
After the match, Nunez said her girls played tough — something she’s always admired.
“They’ve always been a scrappy team for the five years I’ve been with this program,” Nunez said. “They know how to come back and not go down without fighting.”
Between the fourth and fifth sets, the message Nunez had for her team was to “play simple.”
“I just told them to remember what they learned,” Nunez said. “They all know how to fix their mistakes and what they were doing wrong and what they were doing right. I just wanted them to play simple.”
The Spartans took that message and ran with it as their play in the final two sets was calm and collected.
When asked about going down 2-1 in sets, as well as being down late in the fourth set, Nunez said the position was nothing new.
“In those moments, it’s tough. It’s been a problem with our team all season. We come out strong and in the second set, we just lose it,” Nunez said. “I told them to remember who they are and what they worked for and to leave it all out there. There’s not much to lose here.”
Two players who caught the eye of Nunez were Ava Kidd and Sky Watson for their energy and playmaking.
“I think Ava Kidd, our libero, stuck out today,” Nunez said. “Her energy was unwavering and she kept everyone in it. She came through in really tough times.”
“Same with Sky Watson. She’s a really clutch player who I can always rely on to keep us in it and keep the team up,” Nunez said.
As for how proud she was, the young coach was all smiles.
“I think it’s been over 20 years since St. Mary’s has made it into the tournament — not by default,” Nunez said. “Words can’t even express how proud I am of this team and what they have done to get to where they are.”
No. 34 St. Mary’s travels to No. 2 Nipmuc this Friday with the match scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
