It's Sunday morning, and my ankle/shoulder are not feeling too good. Luckily I have a day of rest. More importantly, I found the right amount of pain medication to allow me to play at a somewhat acceptable level last night, so the feelings after the game were not at Endicott-levels.
The reason I'm doing a running diary from watching the film (other than the fact that I find them somewhat entertaining when I read someone else's) is that the match was absolute insanity. I can say confidently I've never played in a match with that type of emotion, from both sides of the court, on top of the rowdy fans. I could just throw random memories from last night into a couple paragraphs and leave it at that, but it won't do the match justice. Without further adieu...
Set 1: (Numbers preceding entries will be our score - their score format).
1-0: After Sadowski serves, Josh gets a good touch on the block, I pass it to Tally who sets Josh on the opposite. The ball slams off the block, hits the 25-foot ceiling in the middle of the court, and lands on our side for the point. Rivier's ceiling makes ball control VERY important, as well as staying on your toes chasing down shanks. Still, good start for us.
2-0: Similar play: Sadowski serve, I dig, Josh puts ball down. I do an over-dramatic fist pump to express my satisfaction.
4-3: After a brief run by Riv, we sideout and block a right-side attack by Anderozzi. This is a good start. It seems the games we've lost our block has been noticably below our norm. Seven points in and we've got a couple touches and an actual block. Energy is high and things looking good.
4-4: They set their middle a push, who proceeds to pound the ball through the gap and almost take away Josh's ability to create children. I have jinxed the video with my previous statement.
6-5: Wright puts down another 1 ball for the kill for Riv. He's the Zoolander of middles: Very strong, but he can't swing left. Unfortunately, he's also 6'7 and contacts high, so it's difficult to stop even when you know it's coming.
10-8:After Tally digs a tip by the outside, Josh gets a ball handling error called on him. The crowd lets him have it. This becomes a theme for the next 2 hours.
11-9: Although hitting feels good (4 kills on as many attempts), my jump serve seems to have suffered the most during this week of injuries/fatigue. I launch one out of bounds, with a lack of snap seeming to be the cause. A member of the crowd proceeds to explain to me that it's not legal.
11-10: Max hits a quick that blatantly nicks the defender. Line judge does not call it. This is not a "to each their own" moment. Robberies by line judge: 1. We protest somewhat peacefully, then return to our respective positions.
12-10: Biuso overpasses the next serve, which lands for the kill. The volleyball gods have intervened for the previous call it seems.
16-13: After Beck gets an ace, Riv proceeds to call timeout. They are 5th in the nation, they have talent in every position, but it seems like little vulnerabilities show themselves now and then. Blockers reaching back for tips, taking an out-of-system set and trying to force something... We're certainly not flawless, but there's definitely not that big of a difference between the two teams (then again, there never seems to be).
16-17: Speaking of flaws, we've managed to compile two hitting errors and get aced in about 12 seconds. Timeout Newbury.
23-26: After some sideout ball by both sides, they block a 2-ball attempt by Mark. Although at the collegiate level you rarely see the 2-ball, I can't argue how successful it's been for him this season, being used for most of his 36 kills against Ramapo. Still, it seems early on like Riv's height in the middle will make it a bit more difficult to pull off this match. Timeout Newbury.
25-27: Mark gets a kill on the right side to bring us within 2. The lack of excitement on our side is alarming. Unfortunately, we've recently developed a Jekyll and Hyde type personality on the court, and at the moment we're lacking the sense of urgency necessary to be the better half...
25-28: I take an out-of-system set and place a rollshot on the line. I watch the ball hit the line. The line judge calls it out. Robberies by the line judge: 2. Before I can express my displeasure with the call, Josh jumps up and down, Beck holds his head in disbelief, Mike proceeds to express his feelings in words I can't put up here in case my mother reads, and the bench lets the ref have it. At this point, I have nothing to say that my teammates haven't already expressed.
27-29: After a hard-fought rally, Soucy hits one of of bounds... or so it seems. They call a touch on the block, at which point Josh proceeds to go to his dark place. Watching the film, it's close. Do I see a touch? No. It doesn't help matters when the ref tells our floor captain that she doesn't know who did it, just that it touched the block. Although I can only see so much on camera, I don't see anything that tells me the ball touches the block, from a change in spin/trajectory, to sound, to the actual sight of seeing it hit. Josh still swears he didn't touch it. As I'm afraid he may attempt to rip my face off and eat it if I disagree, I'll go with it. Robberies by the line judge: 3.
27-30: Ace Rivier. We can argue the calls all we want, but shame on us for bringing our frustration into the next plays. People are avoiding high-fives and sulking, and I feel no sorrow for saying that openly. We are a good team, but one of our biggest obstacles is the team getting in its own way due to emotion getting the best of us. The refs sucked, but we still had plenty of hitting errors/shanked passes/blown opportunities that we could have utilized to make it a moot point. On to set 2.
Set 2:
3-5: Austin Soucy tools the block for the kill. Great hitter in that aspect. I can't count how many kills he had, but at least 2/3's of them were slamming it off the block. Very impressive.
3-8: Ace by Riv. We're definitely out of system. Not a good start.
5-8: Solo Block by Josh. Energy picking up a bit.
11-17: Nice back-1 by Opposite/slide by middle puts Rivier up by six... bleeding needs to be stopped.
12-18: Timeout Newbury. Dwelling on mistakes, not meeting in the middle, struggling to play our game.
16-19: Showing signs of life, playing good defense.
16-20: approximately our 29356th net violation of the match.
16-21: Josh hits a ball that appears to hit the blocker's arm and go out of bounds. The ref calls no touch. At this point, Josh begins a 40-second tangent that will stay with me til the day I can't tell volleyball stories anymore. How he didn't get a yellow/red card I'll never know. Funniest part was when we try to meet in the middle and yell to Josh to join us, who is explaining his interpretation of physics to Jaime. He turns around and yells "I'M ALLOWED, TO TALK, TO MY COACH (commas dictate an inhale of breath for the next two words)... although it wasn't a time-out and the refs seemed to give us this time so he could get his steam out. Never seen anything like it. I looked at Beck, who lives in the triple with Josh and I, and my exact words were "I don't want to sleep in the same room as him tonight". Another effect of this situation is we've appeared to awaken the crowd, who will proceed to heckle us non-stop from this point on.
16-22: Ace Rivier. Anyone else see a pattern? Goddammit.
17-25: (insert cliche about how we're beginning to lose it here). Timeout Newbury.
24-30: Traded points back and forth, but the damage had been done. Ferreira blasts a cross court shot to finish the game. Still are shooting ourselves in the foot, as well as Rivier is playing we certainly aren't making them earn it.
Set 3:
2-0: Refs miss a ball CLEARLY hit the ground, Mike "digs" it with his leg and Tally puts it over for the kill. After 3 matches with this up-ref, I have decided I respectfully disagree with a lot of her calls (and the only reason it isn't disrespectful is in the .0001% chance she ever reads that sentence).
3-1: I cheat up on my coverage, and the ball ricochets off the defender to the back of the court for Riv's first point. I'm beginning to think video is harmful to my self-esteem.
4-2: I redeem myself with a half-way decent pass, at which point Josh puts it down. Crowd starts getting into this set, and when Wright destroys the next ball they are roaring. This is going to be a fun set...
5-3: Josh misses a serve, crowd lets him have it. The camera is across the court from their student section and it's still clear as day.
6-3: Josh with a good pass, Tally with a good set, Mark tools a triple-block. We retaliate with some yelling of our own. Our confidence seems to be re-appearing.
12-6: Tally serves his fourth ace of the match, and Riv calls a timeout. We're finally beginning to put it all together.
13-8: Second service error of the match by me. Not sure where my arm strength went but I really miss it.
16-14: Block by Riv brings them within 2. Rallies are getting longer and both teams are starting to be more aggressive.
18-17: My passing's starting to get a bit shaky. It's been pretty consistent all match, do-or-die time would not be a good time to change that.
19-20: Riv gets first lead of the set. People seem pissed off, but the good news is it seems to be in the right manner. We're communicating still and directing it towards doing our job rather than dwelling on what we can't control.
20-20: Tally gives me an incredible one-handed backset, game to ten now.
21-21: The first blatant ankle-buckling occurs on a dig attempt, which proves to be a great set for their middle who puts a crater in the floor to show his appreciation. Not now please.
23-22: Josh absolutely destroys a right-side attack to give us the lead. Both sides are pushing back and forth, with no real momentum advantage on either side.
26-24: I proceed to destroy a line-shot... about a foot out of bounds. Luckily, the block got excited and hit the net. I pretend like it's no big deal but in my head I realize the bullet I just dodged.
26-25: Another missed touch. Unbelievable. We're clearly not happy with it, but we seem to realize how it's useless to waste energy arguing it, so back to our positions we go.
26-26: Timeout Newbury after Hansen pushes it to the back left corner on 2. Everyone seems focused at the task at hand though, and the whole time I know we're going to 4.
27-26: Tally goes back to serve, at which point the crowd begins a "You're not Hansen" chant, implying that their setter is better than ours. Not very clever, but I suppose a bit more tasteful than at Harvard when 2 fans notified me that apparently I have a pregnant girlfriend thanks to their services.
30-26: Tally proceeds to respond to their chant by setting off a 4-0 run, capped off by a solo block by Josh (No opposite in D-3 can finish a game with a block like him. If that was a stat, he'd lead the nation). Set 4's coming up, and we're on the side with the students. Looking forward to it, as they drown out the voices in my head that usually bother me.
Set 4:
5-5: I hit a line-shot to tie it up. Why my arm seems fine in the front row but I can't serve very well is beyond me.
10-9: Second ankle-buckle of the match, this time on a ball switching directions due to the ceiling. I look like the anti-gazelle shanking it and taking a tumble in the process.
12-9: Mark absolutely houses Wright. Huge block.
12-14: They counter it with 5 straight points, the last 3 coming from blocks. Timeout Newbury.
13-14: About 5 plays back, Josh tweaked his calf. In the timeout, he taped it up a bit. The crowd now peppers him with "Suck it up!" chants for the remainder of the game.
16-17: Rivier not happy about a non-call on Mark contacting the ball before it crossed the plane. Like we haven't been getting robbed all day.
18-20: Mis-communication in the backrow lets a tip drop. Crucial point for Riv.
22-23: The crowd starts peppering one of our bigger players, chanting "Love Handles". Our AD would never let this happen. My complaint here is not with the crowd.
24-24: HUGE rally gives us a tie game. Was almost a minute long. Ends with a net violation by Riv. Brutal.
24-27: Speaking of brutal, an awful hitting decision by me caps a 3-0 run by Rivier.
25-27: Tally wins a joust for a crucial sideout.
26-27: Solo block by Mark!
26-29: I get blocked attempting a swipe.
28-29: One missed serve/block later, and we're one point away from making it a game to two!
29-29: Hitting error by the opp!
29-30: Kill by Ferreria gives them their second match point
30-30: Another joust by Tally ties it up.
30-31: I over-run the set a bit, and the rollshot I hit grazes the antenna. Not pleased. 3rd match point for Riv.
31-31: Josh gets blocked on the outside, but Mike gets a huge cover and I go over the outside and JUST around the middle to tie it up. Feeling a bit better about the previous play.
31-32: long volley ends with a kill from Soucy. 4th match point for Riv.
31-33: Another decent volley ends with Josh's hit grazing the antenna.
It was a hard loss, but a much better showing than the previous two matches. A lot of us are coming off sickness/injuries, and we just picked a tough week in the schedule to do it. Morale is still good, and with 4 days before our next match, I expect to bounce back from all of this starting with Elms Thursday. Although it was a loss, the excitement of the match was about as good as it gets at this level. I wish all matches had a crowd like that... but unfortunately it's not how it goes.
Anyways, off to do some homework. I'll update in the next few days probably.
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