Sports Roundup: Volleyball Loses Thriller At Home, Girls Soccer Earns Road Win
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes updates on the volleyball team following a nail biter at home, the girls soccer team following a gutsy road victory, the golf team after a pair of matches, and the cross country team.
Volleyball Loses Five Set Thriller
The Whaler volleyball team welcomed the Sturgis West Navigators to the island Monday afternoon and the matchup turned into a back and forth affair that carried all the way into a fifth set, which the Whalers ultimately lost 15-6.
"It was a fun match. It was fun to watch," Whaler head coach Makaila Lyons said. "They're working hard. They're mostly having fun, which is what we want. Something that we said was our goal at the beginning of the match was consistency, and we're still lacking there. But it's getting better. I really liked, today, generally their drive and fight to win, to push. I haven't seen them push this hard over sets. I've seen them push hard in a set, but I haven't seen them push hard like that consecutively.”
The sets were as followed:
Set One: 25-23 Whalers, they rallied back after going down 22-20 to jump out to an early lead.
Set Two: Despite Whaler a ferocious Whaler comeback to make it close, the Navigators win the set 25-20 and tied the match 1-1.
Set Three: It what may have been the best set of the afternoon, Nantucket was able to pull it out and win 28-26 and took a 2-1 lead.
Set Four: This set was well within Nantucket’s grasp, and they had a 20-18 lead at one point. After the set was tied 23-23, the Navigators were able to secure the final two points to take the set 25-23 and push the match into a fifth set.
Set Five: The Whalers fell into a 9-1 deficit early and were never able to catch up – losing 15-6.
Mariana Silva led the Whalers with seven aces. Julie Pires had 22 service receptions and Lyons said she stood out all match.
“Julie (stood out) for just being everywhere all the time but also, I saw a shift in her today," Lyons said. "So obviously, she's one of our captains, and the shift I saw her in here today was going from I care so much about this game that I want to win to I care so much about this game that I want us to win. I saw that shift happen live in maybe the second set, it went from just wanting it to want it versus like she really wanted it for everybody. There was just a shift there that I saw that I really, really liked, and it's awesome for a junior captain.”
As for the fifth set, Lyons said where she felt it went wrong was just being unable to dig out of an early hole they put themselves in – acknowledging the difficulties that come with climbing out of a deficit.
"We just got stuck," Lyons said. "That's a pattern that we've seen so far this season, and it's something that we are working on. But it's not easy to get out of the hole when you're in the hole. Easier to say than to do. Sometimes you just get stuck, and we got to just work on the mental toughness of getting out of it, reframing into ‘We're making a mistake, but I want the ball again’ not ‘I'm afraid to get the ball.’”
Nantucket is now 1-5 this season and they will have a chance to get back into the win column at home on Saturday, September 27th at 11 a.m. when they host the Abington Green Wave. The Whalers played Abington on September 20th on the road and lost 1-3. You can view more photos from this match here.
Girls Soccer Wins Close Game On The Road
The girls soccer team went on the road to play the Sturgis West Navigators Monday afternoon and won 2-1 to improve their record to 3-3-2 this season.
Whaler head coach Doug LeBrecht said their first goal was off the foot of Emma Woodbury, who has been one of Nantucket’s most dependable goal scorers eight games into the season, on a follow up shot to her initial shot on net. Then midway through the second half, senior captain Chelsea Gross scored from a Louisa Beni pass to score the eventual game winner.
“(We were) missing some key players,” LeBrecht said. “We had some different players on the field out of there comfort zone. Grace Schroder played the defensive (midfield) and played it well for her first time. Center back Allyson (Escobar) and midfielder Harper LeBrecht kept us out of trouble on defense and Harper created several scoring opportunities and had several shots. Our goalie Madden Myers was great, and Fiona Keltz played well as the second center defender.”
Nantucket has now won two games in a row and after building off their thrilling 4-2 victory on Saturday with the win over the Navigators, will hope to extend their win streak to three games when they travel to Sandwich on Friday, September 26th to play the Blue Knights at 4 p.m.
Golf Remains Undefeated In League Play Following Win Over Dennis-Yarmouth
The Whaler golf team played back-to-back matches this week, losing on the road to St. John Paul II 235-269 on Monday and beating the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins at home on Tuesday 246-267.
Below are the scores from the St. John Paul II match.
David Boulter – 44
Colby Lucas – 44
Hunter Bistany – 44
Edward Taveras – 45
TQ Scarlett – 46
Emil Ivanov – 46
Jake Grant – 48
Paxton Fitch – 52
Below are the scores from the Dennis-Yarmouth matchup.
Ben Freeman – 37
David Foley – 39
Hunter Bistany – 42
Colby Lucas – 42
Lucien Silva – 42
TQ Scarlett – 44
David Boulter – 45
Edward Taveras – 52
Nantucket is now 6-3 this season and they will be right back in action on Wednesday, September 24th at home against the Rising Tide Herons at 3:30 p.m. and then on Thursday , September 25th on the road against the Sturgis West Navigators at 3:30 p.m.
Cross Country Completes 3K In Wrentham
The Whaler cross country team participated in a meet Saturday afternoon in Wrentham, and the freshmen male runners placed 5th as a team against other freshmen runners participating in the 3K.
Michael Sullivan ran a 10:59 and earned 14th in the freshman race.
Hayden Roberts ran 11:15 and earned 25th.
Leila Noddin ran a 12:36 and earned 15th in the race.
Anna Cronin ran a 12:43 and earned 25th in the junior race.
Nantucket’s next meet is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 30th at home against the Sturgis East Storm at 4 p.m. at the Gardner Farm trail.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Wednesday, September 24th:
The golf team will be at home facing the Rising Tide Herons at 3:30 p.m.
The boys soccer team will be on the road playing Abington High School at 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 25th:
The golf team will be on the road playing the Sturgis West Navigators at 3:30 p.m.
For more Whaler sports coverage, photos, and updates, follow the Current Sports Instagram page here.