By Alex Grondin ‘22
Ahead of Easter weekend, St John’s Prep volleyball was prepared to finish off their three game home stretch. This would be the last of the back-to-back-to-back as the Eagles prepared to face the visiting Catholic Memorial Knights. The Knights came into this game still winless and hoping to secure their first of the season. Whereas the Eagles came into this game with an impressive 6-0 record and aiming to make it seven. Could they get their third sweep in three days (sweeping BC High & Lawrence prior to CM) or would the Knights upset the Eagles?
Set 1 SJP 25-8 CM
The first set was utter domination. Starters such as Dan Schorr, Brian Manning and Callum Brown would play a big role in this set and then be rested for the majority of the game. This set was never really a competition, and when the Knights were able to get points, it tended to be off of Eagles’ errors or violations.
Set 2 SJP 25-13 CM
Youth, youth, youth would be the story of the rest of the game as freshman Chris Wagner, sophomore Tighe Lusk, and sophomore Ben Krisiak would play crucial roles. In an interview with head coach Kara Brown after the game, she seemed excited for the younger guys and said, “It was great; at one point we had basically all JV kids on the front row. Ben Krisiak is going to be a beast on the right side... It’s just fun, it’s fun for those kids to get into varsity matches but also have such support from the varsity players.” Despite maybe taking a foot off the gas for a few moments in this set, it was truly never a contest.
Set 3 SJP 25-10 CM
In the third and final, the Eagles were able to finish off their homestretch with three consecutive sweeps. Despite total control for the Eagles, I felt like this was the Knights best set. They used the fundamentals: bump, set, and kill. Number 7 for CM I was particularly impressed with as he got a few kills this game. Once again though the youth and future of the Eagles showed up and impressed. Junior Ben Bailey was particularly impressive today serving wise, but the best moment of this game came at the end when freshman Chris Wagner got the chance to serve on match point. It was straight from a dream as he got the ace and all the Eagles surrounded him. Going back to what Coach Brown mentioned, there was so much support from the varsity players for the younger guys, and that ought to make them feel good.
This week's match ups were impressive, however, by no means were they a challenge. Of course you still have to play your game regardless of the level of competition. After the game I asked Coach Brown what she thought about it, she said, “We always, no matter what’s on the other side of the net, are like we have to go back and work in practice.” St. John’s now prepares to travel on the road to Milford Highschool on April 19th and look to get their 8th win of the season.