By Jeff JHO Hoyland
Whereas most of Wednesday’s Bedford High School sporting events were cancelled for “fear of getting wet,” it was a balmy 79+ degrees in the BHS gym, when the BHS Volleyball team opened their DCL champion title defense against the Wolfpack of Boston Latin. Last year, BHS opened the season at Boston Latin, and there was no contest as Boston Latin rolled up huge numbers of unforced errors. This year’s Wolfpack team is vastly improved (I fully expect Boston Latin to surprise a lot of DCL teams.)
Image in the gallery below are all (c) Jeff JHO Hoyland, 2017 all rights reserved – Double click each to view larger image
Co-captain and returning senior Jasmin Yannix started the first set off well, nailing 4 aces during her serve. However, Wolfpack surprised the Buccaneers with great serving, and power striking of “killshots.” The Bucs dropped the first set 25-23. It was clear that Bedford had a lot of unforced errors, because everyone was trying too hard to win the game in the first set.
The second set, which will forever be known as The-Set-We-Will-Never-Speak-of-Again, was a combination of disorganized play, and a streak of very bad luck. Bedford created every kind of unforced error possible, losing the second set 25-9.
Mr. Doom and Mr. Gloom crept up on my shoulders — I had not seen the two of them since Super Bowl 51. And much like the New England Patriots, the Bedford Bucs had a comeback for the ages.
The third set saw the Bucs gel as a team. Co-captains Jasmin Yannix and Cordy Houck focused the team to eliminate unforced errors. Shots that had gone “long” in the first two sets started to drop in for points. Serves that had sailed out of bounds were now dropping nicely over the net. The lead changed several times before Bedford won the third set 25-19
The fourth set saw both teams playing very conservatively. It wasn’t until “emotional dyno Amy Martin, a senior, hoisted the team on her back making killshots, serving aces, and blocking net shots, that the Bucs were able to win 25-21.
If Amy was the “spitfire”, then sophomore Kristina Parenti was the calming force in the fifth and final set. As the setter, her calm demeanor focused the team as she spread the ball around evenly and kept Boston Latin off balance. With the score tied 14-14, Kristina served the last two points for the win.
Not to be lost in all the excitement, sophomore Olivia Roscoe made her Varsity debut; keep an eye out for her to improve with experience.
Click the Bedford Snapshots Facebook page for 113 more pictures of the Boston Latin game, then watch two short video clips from the game:
- Senior Amy Martin killing it in the fifth set with the BUCS down 13-14
- Match Point in the fifth set: BHS Bucs vs Boston Latin Wolfpack
Loading ...
