Boys Volleyball: Hawks Rally Against Mounties

It was a special night at Mount Saint Charles Academy on Thursday night, but the boys volleyball team's hard playing and crowd's enthusiasm would not be enough to take down Bishop Hendricken in the final game of the regular season. The game was played on Senior Night: the seniors boys last chance to shine in front of their home crowd before the playoffs.

The boys faced off against the Hawks, who were able to hold on to their perfect record with a 3-2 win despite Mount's 2-1 lead early on. The Hawks rallied to win the fourth and fifth games.

In the first game the Mounties elected to play all of the seniors throughout, as coach Josh D'Abate juggled his lineup. Early on the strategy was working, as they only trailed 9-7. However, a 10-2 run by the Hawks gave them a 19-9 lead. They would win the game 25-12, with a block by senior Sebastian Noordzy ending the game.

MSC responded in the second game, as they never trailed and took an early 5-0 lead. Hendricken rallied to cut their deficit to 15-13, but the Mounties refused to give up the lead. They won the game 25-22, evening the match at 1-1.

The third game was competitive throughout and neither team could build a big lead in the early portions of it. The Mounties used a 10-3 run to take a 22-14 advantage.

The Hawks came charging back, scoring six points in a row. MSC senior Matthew Koback recorded two of his team high 14 kills, on the last three points of the game, as the Mounties won it 25-22.

The Mounties led from the outset in game number four. They held a slim 8-6 edge early in the game. Hendricken responded with an 11-2 run, to take a 17-10 lead. A kill by Noordzy ended the game, with the Hawks winning it 25-16 and the match would head to a decisive fifth game.

In the tie-breaking 5th game, the first team to 15 points would win the match. Hendricken led 4-1 early in the final game, but the Mounties answered with a 6-2 run, to take a 7-6 lead. The game was tied at 8 and 11, and the Hawks seized momentum by taking a 13-11 lead.

Mount Saint Charles cut their deficit to 14-13, but a kill by Hendricken junior Brendan Baker ended the game and match. The Hawks finished the regular season undefeated and the Mounties will be the #3 seed in the playoffs, set to begin next week.

Hawks junior John Kane notched 13 kills and Ted Seufert led the team with 15 kills. In addition to the game-winning kill, Baker had six blocks.

Mounties sophomore Ryan Durand had 39 assists and 6 digs. Junior Dan Cahaly had nine kills and 10 blocks and captain Patrick McCarthy notched 10 kills.

Mounties coach, Josh D'Abate was pleased with the effort last night. "I thought our guys played extremely well defensively," he said, "The match could have gone either way."

He gave credit to Hawks senior JJ Bessette, who is Hendricken's setter. "I thought their setter was phenomenal tonight," the coach added.