Warriors drop non-league match to Austin Prep, 3-0
By DAN BYRNE
THE WMHS girls’ volleyball team high-fives each other during a recent match to rally the squad. The Warriors hosted Austin Prep last night at the Charbonneau Field House and were blanked 3-0 in a non-league match. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Memorial High School varsity girls’ volleyball team continued its 2014 season on Thursday evening when it hosted Austin Prep at the Charbonneau Field House in a non-league match.
At 2-11 coming into this one, the Warriors were hoping to come away with their third victory of the season. Although they put forth a valiant effort in what Coach Nicole Trudeau would call their most mentally strong game to date, the Warriors dropped the match in three consecutive sets.
Wakefield jumped ahead early but lost the lead in the first set. It didn’t look promising midway through but the Warriors turned it around and made the first set a contest before falling behind and eventually losing 25-18.
A slow start to the second set gave Austin Prep the advantage it needed and, despite a Wakefield comeback midway through the set that saw the Cougars lead cut to 10-9. Wakefield couldn’t complete the comeback and fell by a 25-14 score.
Down two sets to none, Wakefield needed to put it all together for the third set. However Austin Prep came out determined to end this game sooner rather than later. The Cougars scored the first nine points of the set before taking a commanding 12-2 lead. Wakefield didn’t have what it took to pull off the comeback and dropped the third set by a 25-9 score to end the match at 3-0 in favor of Austin Prep.
After the game Coach Trudeau shared some of her viewpoints from the match.
“It’s tough to keep coming in here and losing,” she said. “But we played mentally stronger today than ever before. Mentally they’re getting a little bit better every time. Once we have a streak we have to keep going.
“I tell them it’s not about winning and losing, it’s about going out and making yourself better every single time,” continued Trudeau. “Their biggest opponent is themselves and mentally they have to get past it. All you have to do is start piecing things together more and more and you’ll start seeing yourself come out on top.”
When asked about some specific individual performances, Coach Trudeau saw some promising signs on the court.
“Mackenzie Story was getting her hands on things,” noted the coach. “Abby Badgett stepped in the middle and really got her hands on things, she was blocking well, she had her first stuffed block which was great,” she said.
The loss puts the team’s record at 2-12 overall this season but the Warriors don’t have much time to dwell on the defeat as they head back out again on Friday to play Stoneham. The match is at 5:30 p.m. at the Charbonneau Field House.
