Somerville falls at home to Matignon

The tough times continued for the Somerville High girls volleyball team on Tuesday, as the Highlanders fell to Matignon by a score of 3-0 at the Somerville High Field House.

The Highlanders lost, 25-22, 25-21 and 27-25, as the Warriors were able to escape with the win on the road.

The Highlanders (1-8) were able to keep things close for the most part, but lacked the killer instinct to finish the job.

"At the beginning, I thought we played well," said head coach Lauren Poussard. "We played well offensively...our hits were there, our blocks were there, but covering and back row play were definitely something we needed to work on."

The first game was tight until Matignon pulled away at the end. That would pretty much be the formula for the rest of the contest, as strong stretches of play from the Highlanders were negated by the efforts of the Matignon squad.

Somerville's achilles heel on the night was the play of the back row, something that hadn't been a concern earlier in the season, but seems to have fallen by the wayside in the team's efforts to sure up other facets of its game.

"Covering had been more of an issue for us," said Poussard. "Now that we've got the covering and the front row, we can go back and work on the back row. We've just got to put it all together and we'll be fine." 

Despite the issues with the back row, the Highlanders nearly took the second game, and were leading 18-16 before the Warriors mounted a comeback and ultimately took the win, 25-21.

The best opportunity for Somerville to take at least a game on the afternoon came in the final match, as the two teams were tied at 25 before Matignon squeaked away with a 27-25 victory and a clean sweep on the day.

Outside hitter Nicole Genard had a good afternoon for the Highlanders, collecting 6 kills, while Lorenza Etienne added 2 kills. Captain Nazha Ferradi pitched in with 6 digs and Brittany Cassidy posted 3 blocks. Middle hitter Jacqueline Homsi also had a good game, with 2 blocks and a kill.

Next up for the Highlanders will be Medford, who visits Somerville High on October 13, and always presents a formidable challenge.

"We went five games with the last time," said Poussard. "It was close, and you know they're going to be a good match. If we can sure up our back row, we should be good."