The Wakefield Trojans volleyball team went 1-1 over the past week after taking a loss to Howells-Dodge but responding with a dominating victory over Pender just two days later to improve the Trojans season record to 5-10.
In their most recent contest, the Trojans took on the Pender Pendragons in Wakefield on Thursday, Sept. 19.
After a tough loss at the hands of Howells-Dodge just two days prior, the Trojans entered Pender looking to get the bad taste of a loss out of their mouths.
Pender, having entered the contest with just three wins on the season, looked to be the perfect team to allow the Trojans to get back on track.
As expected, all three sets were close in this matchup, but Wakefield continued to get the best of Pender when it mattered most.
In set one, the Trojans kept the Pendragons at arms-length and finished the job with a 25-22 victory. In set two, both teams showed their hunger and need for a victory, but once again, the Trojans came out on top.
With a 27-25 victory in set two, the Trojans were looking to hand the Pendragons a loss in dominating fashion.
Set three mirrored the first two sets of the match in terms of competitiveness. Both teams fought hard, Pender to avoid the sweep, and Wakefield to get its fifth win of the year.
In the end, Wakefield was once again able to keep the Pendragons pushed away long enough to secure a 25-21 set three win and earn the sweep.
This win improved Wakefield’s record to 5-10 as the squad is now officially past the halfway point of the season.
In its first matchup of the week, Wakefield took on the Howells-Dodge Jaguars on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Against the Jaguars, the Trojans put up a good fight, but it never seemed to be quite enough.
In set number one, things started out close. Both teams traded points back-and-forth until finally the Jaguars were able to put together a small run to go up 12-7.
While it wasn’t insurmountable, this deficit proved to be enough for the Jaguars to hang on for a 25-20 win.
Set two was much of the same for both teams. Once again, the Trojans traded blows with the Jaguars to begin the set, but one small run put the Jaguars up 11-7. From there, Howells-Dodge never looked back.
This time, however, the Jaguars were able to continue gaining separation as the set went on and secured a 25-14 set-two-victory.
Despite the fairly crushing set two loss, the Trojans continued to fight hard in set three.
Set three was arguably the closest of all sets up to that point. Both teams found themselves tied at 16-16, but this time it was the Trojans who were able to pull away with a 5-2 run to go up 21-18. Luckily, that run was enough to get the Trojans the separation they needed, and Wakeifeld hung on to win 25-22 and extend the match.
In the fourth set, with the momentum on their side, the Trojans began to find a groove. Unfortunately, after they were able to take a 15-12 lead, things went downhill from there.
The Jaguars managed to go on a strong 6-1 run to retake the lead, and from there, Howells-Dodge finished the job with a 25-18 victory to win 3-1.
Senior Alli Brown led the team in kills in the tough loss with 17 and was followed by the duo of Isabella Andrade and Boston Brown, who each had five. B. Brown also finished the night with a game-high 24 assists.
Ashlyn Riewer finished the night with a team-leading 15 digs, and was closely followed by B. Brown and Andrade, who each had 13.
After hosting their own triangular, the Trojans will travel to Laurel on Thursday, Sept. 26 for the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Triangular. At the triangular, Wakefield will take on both L-C-C and Wynot. Similar to the Wakefield Triangular, the L-C-C Triangular will begin at 5:30 p.m.