On Wednesday, April 24, the Archie Williams boys varsity volleyball team laced up to face off against their rivals, the Tamalpais High School Hawks, in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semi-finals. The Falcons went into the game as the second-seed team and were favored to win, but failed to soar above the third-seeded Hawks and lost the game 1-3.
The game started off neck and neck, with neither team securing a comfortable lead. Nevertheless, in the last few points of the first set, Archie Williams began to break down Tamalpais. Junior Zach Wulff had six kills, and the Falcons won the first set 25-23.
The second set started similarly to the first, with both teams playing at an even pace. The Falcons, however, began to struggle with passing, allowing the Hawks to pull ahead and eventually win it 25-27.
“I think we played too much of their game. We need to focus on playing more of our game, but sometimes you’re going to lose; it happens in sports,” Zach said.
In the third set, the Falcons still couldn’t secure a lead over the Hawks. Senior Ellis Chamberlin scored four points for Archie Williams by using a false set to trick the Hawks. Despite their clever plays, the Falcons came up short again, and Tamalpais pulled ahead with strong offensive plays to end the set 20-25.
The Falcons came into the fourth set looking to tie up the game but instead began to break down defensively. The Hawks used that to take the lead. Still, the Falcons attempted to close the gap between the scores with their best efforts. Unfortunately, their hard work didn’t allow them to come out victorious, and the final set ended 20-25.
Coach Alex Perelson expressed his ideas on what the Falcons could improve on to win future playoff games.
“We need to work on passing. It’s hard to get an offensive set up when the ball is not put in our setter’s hands,” Perelson said.
Although the Falcons are no longer in the MCAL tournament, their ranking qualifies them for the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs, which will continue in the postseason. They hope to further their success in the NCS tournament and make the most out of the rest of their season.
“Looking really forward to the postseason that we have ahead of us. This is a great group of guys we have here, and I think we can go really far,” said senior Elias Garcilazo.
