Boys' Volleyball Falls Short in First Round of Tournament Play

The update below was supplied by Coach Rod Fletcher.

The Warriors qualified for the state volleyball tournament with a 10-10 record, playing in the DCL which is one of the most competitive leagues in the state -- it sent six of eight teams to the tournament.

Wayland drew Cambridge, the defending State Champions and league rival, in the first round. The previous match versus Cambridge had been a very close 3-1 loss in a hotly contested match where Cambridge scored a total of 95 points to Wayland's 92. Although Cambridge was returning last year's (and this year's) league Player of the Year at outside hitter, the Warriors were optimistic about their chances.

Both teams got it going right from the start of the match, trading plays and points up to a tie score at 8-8. Wayland hustled with solid ball control from Harry Leavitt, Cameron Chin, Will Curry and libero and co-captain David Cohen. Cambridge built a small late lead with some big hits and went on to win the first game 25-18.

The second game was a repeat of the first as the teams again traded serves, digs, sets and spikes. Warrior setter and co-captain Ben Haspel got the Warrior offense going and spiking from Harry Leavitt, Greg Karpacz and Kurt Straube got the Warriors points in a see-saw battle eventually won by Cambridge 25-22.

The Warriors continued to battle and hustle, with the entire team digging and keeping points alive, and some key plays from Andrew Straube and Nick Tempesta in another multiple deuce game that Cambridge took with some big hits 25-22 to win the match. 

Coach Fletcher was "very proud of the way our guys battled the whole match against a very good Cambridge team with the best hitter in Massachusetts and perhaps New England. Three years ago the Wayland boys were new to volleyball and today we went head-to-head with one of the best teams and strongest programs in the state.

"These guys worked hard to learn and improve over the last three years and we had a lot of fun doing it together. This team always played together and brought a great competitive spirit to the game. It has been a great three years with this team of 10 seniors and I hope that they all continue to play."