Archie Williams boy’s volleyball cuts down Redwood in four set thriller
Archie Williams Senior Jack Levieux sets a ball for his teammate.
On Wednesday, April 20, the Archie Williams Falcons boys varsity volleyball team faced off against the Redwood Giants in the MCAL semifinals at their home nest. The matchup determined which team will continue their season into the MCAL finals. The Falcons chopped Redwood down, winning the matchup 3-1.
In the first set, the Falcons started slow; however, they made a quick comeback and created a small 12-9 lead over the Giants. The Giants did not let the deficit decide the outcome, tying the Falcons at 16, then again at 18 and 19. Redwood managed to gain a two point lead over Archie Williams due to small errors on the Falcons side of the net at 23-21. Redwood finished the first set with a 25-22 lead.
“You have five chances to win, five sets, and that was only one,” said senior team Captain Alex Lucich. “It was a tight set the whole time, it wasn’t a deadly factor.”
In the second set, the Falcons kept their composure, allowing them to go up a quick 15-8 lead in the second set Archie Williams’ defense took charge, allowing only 18 points for the Giants in the set. Alex and sophomore Zach Wulf managed to obtain 27 kills in the match, helping lead their team to victory in the second set to tie Redwood and win the second set 25-18.
“We started playing our game instead of theirs… we made a lot of errors in the first set and as soon as we cleaned that up, [the match] really started to go our way,” Zach said.
The third set began neck and neck, with the teams tying at five points each until senior Kaleb Simmons managed to assist multiple kills in leading his team on a 7-0 scoring streak. This gave the Falcons a comfortable seven point lead, making the score 12-5. Redwood responded to Archie’s scoring streak, closing the gap only slightly and pushing the score to 18-12. However, the Falcons went on another 7-point scoring streak, ultimately winning the set 25-12.
By winning the third set, the Falcons were just one set victory away from their ticket to the MCAL finals.
“We realized we were better than them, and we were making the mistakes. They weren’t winning points, we were giving them points,” said head coach Greg Jones.
In the fourth set, the Falcons took the match into their own hands. Going up a quick 11-3 lead, the Falcons were able to consistently widen the gap between themselves and Redwood. The Falcons took control of the set from the beginning, winning the final set needed to punch their ticket to the MCAL championship, with a final set score of 25-15.
“I was a little nervous because Redwood wants this more than us. We took them out last year and I knew they were going to be strong, but we absolutely dominated everything we needed… and I’m really proud of my boys for that,” Alex said.
With this victory, the Falcons secured themselves a spot in the MCAL championship and a chance to become back-to-back MCAL champions. The championship matchup this upcoming Friday will feature the Falcons and the Tamalpais Hawks in a neutral gym at Novato High School.
“We are just going to play our game and we are going to be back-to-back MCAL champions,” Jones said.
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Jordan is a junior, in his second year of journalism. You can often find him skateboarding, skiing, or playing soccer. He loves spending time with his...
