Berkshire's boys volleyball team couldn't pull out a win hosting the Mayfield Wildcats on March 13, but they came close.
Match photos click here.
Berkshire’s boys volleyball team couldn’t pull out a win hosting the Mayfield Wildcats on March 13, but they came close.
After two extremely close sets, split 1-1, the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead in the match and got out to a quick 15-3 lead in set three.
The Badgers also gained some early momentum in the fourth set as they evened the match at 2-2.
But in the deciding fifth set, the Wildcats claimed a 15-5 victory to defeat the Badgers in a closely contested 3-2 match.
Berkshire Head Coach Tim Percic said the Wildcats have players who played well in key spots on the court and started the match strong.
Early on, both teams were trying to understand how they could be successful, he added.
“It was a back-and-forth as both teams were feeling each other out to see what our strengths were,” Percic said. “We had some adjustments we needed to make.
“They have a setter who knows where to put the ball — not just to set it, but to dump it as well. And that was an adjustment we had to make, because we did not run into that too much last year.
“So credit to Mayfield, they put a lot more together in those first two sets.”
In the third game, Percic said Mayfield was able to get ahead early, which Berkshire did in the fourth set.
Two Badgers that played very well throughout were juniors Tony Masters and Jake Starr. The team has been working hard to set Masters up for kill opportunities, his coach said.
This was certainly evident against the Wildcats, as Masters accrued many kills.
“Tony Masters is a returning middle hitter,” Percic said. “We’ve been working hard in the off-season. One of the more advanced things we’re doing is running middles that are somewhat out of system. We saw a lot of that today.
“Number 10 (Jake Starr) has a lot of capability to hit the ball and place the ball on the outside, and we’re looking forward to him and some of the other guys kind of really jelling.”
As the season is just beginning, Coach Percic said his Badgers are continuing to develop their on-court cohesion; this year’s team will play a different style of volleyball than last year’s team.
Last season, the team relied on a strong outside hitter to carry it. This year, it will implement advanced strategic volleyball techniques, which take time to learn.
“As we learn to play together, I think our team is going to blossom,” Percic said. “I think in a couple weeks, you’re not going to recognize the team that played today with what’s going to happen — and that will be a positive change, so I am looking forward to that.
“Our team has a lot of talent with a handful of returning players, (and) we got a whole fresh crop of freshman and first year players, so I am (also) excited about that.”
The Badgers would return to the court March 19, traveling to Howland High School to take on the Tigers.
