On Friday, April 14, the volleyball team took down Wootton in a close match, winning 3-2. The hype heading into the match was certainly met as the game went the full distance and every set was tight. The game featured two undefeated teams with the Wildcats at a record of 5-0 and Wootton at 3-0.
The first set saw the Wildcats and Patriots trade runs early on leaving the score tied at 22 before the Patriots pulled away late to win 25-23. In the second set, the Patriots got out to an early 14-6 lead, however, the Wildcats closed the gap and went up 23-19. Then Wootton came right back and tied it up at 23. The teams traded points until WJ won back-to-back points, ending the set with a 28-26.
The third set was similar to the second except this time the Wildcats pulled out to a 15-11 lead before the Patriots stormed back and tied it up at 15. The set went back and forth until Wootton closed out the set with a score of 25-23. The fourth set was tight throughout before the Wildcats won seven of nine points late to earn a 25-20 set victory. In the final set, WJ got out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back, closing out the match with a 15-7 win.
“I believe we were able to get the win by staying persistent even after falling behind. For a good amount of the sets, we started out losing but we’re able to stay consistent and work hard to come out on top,” junior opposite hitter Evan Geiss said.
The boys’ volleyball team has looked impressive so far this season having won 18 of 21 sets with two of the set losses coming from the matchup with Wootton. A big factor in the team’s early season success has been the senior captain pairing of setter Joseph (Joe) Morris and outside hitter Sebastiano (Seba) Sani.
The veteran experience of the team has also been key as the team has seven seniors. These players have a lot of games under their belt together and all want to end their high school career with a championship.
“The most important thing to winning is having chemistry and everyone believing in the goal so our team has bought into that,” Morris said.
The seniors have helped the newer players adjust to a system that is way different than they are used to.
“Playing varsity, especially against the tougher teams like Wootton, there is a lot more strategy being put into the smaller details of the game,” Geiss said.
The boys’ volleyball team’s next game is at home against Winston Churchill (5-0) starting at 7 p.m.
“Taking down Churchill will be tough. Seba our outside hitter will not be there. He’s out in California right now. Winning short handed is going to be the biggest challenge yet. So staying together even more and just playing our game is going to be key. We have to mentally lock in to get it done,” Morris said.
