Mepham Boys Volleyball Narrowly Defeated by Garden City

Score: Garden City 3, Mepham 2

Records: Garden City 1-0; Mepham 0-1

The Heroes: Senior co-captain Logan Becker easily adapted to the Trojans' new 5-1 offensive system and picked up where he left off last spring by collecting 11 kills and 19 assists, including several touch volleys that found space in the Pirate defense. Doug Donnelly had five aces and was the server during a 6-0 run that keyed Garden City's second-set win that tied the match at a game apiece.

Strong In Defeat: Mepham's Roger Borger had a strong game with 11 kills, 10 blocks and 17 digs and Austin Tennenbaum added 25 digs.

The Turning Point: Mepham had all the momentum heading in to the decisive fifth set after recording 10 of the last 14 points of the fourth, including a 9-0 run that made it 24-16. But the Pirates imploded at the start of the fifth set, committing nine unforced errors that gave the Trojans an insurmountable 11-3 advantage. "We were going too fast," said junior Roger Borger. "We didn't slow down the game in our heads and we just got out of control."

The Quote: "Everybody was expecting them to wipe the floor with us," Mepham Coach Brenda Dolan said about the Tigers winning the first set. "Pride took over (our team) and they had a belief in themselves. The big word of our team is confidence. Everything we do has to be with confidence and if they have it in them, they'll do well."

The Bottom Line: Boys' volleyball has changed to a fall sport starting this season and the only fatigue seemed to come from Garden City's 45-minute bus ride to Bellmore instead of the quick turnaround from the previous spring. "It's actually a little bit easier because there's a shorter amount of time than the last time you touched the ball so it made it a lot easier to pass and do everything," Becker said. Each team also debuted new coaches Thursday, with Mike Weiner taking over for Phil Opinante, who is coaching Garden City varsity girls' squad, and Dolan succeeding Dan Bloomfield. Borger noticed the difference right away. "She is a lot tougher and will push you harder," he said. "Every little mistake, she calls you on it."

Who's Next? Mepham visits Carey on Monday.

Linescore:

                                              1          2          3          4          5          F

Garden City                20        25        25        19        25        3

Mepham                        25        21        16        25        13        2