Taconic Takes Central to Extra Points in Fourth Set

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – It took a Division 1 squad to hand the Taconic volleyball team its first loss of the season.

 

And it nearly needed five sets to get the job done.

 

Natalia Dos Santos had 20 digs, 17 serve receives and six kills for the Division 5 Thunder in a 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 28-26 loss to Springfield Central on Thursday.

 

“I've been so proud of these girls throughout this season up to this point, but tonight they brought it to another level in a loss to a team that prevented us from coming close to the high number of aces we usually get, and a team that just kept pounding the ball at us with a really high in play percentage,” Taconic coach Lance Fyfe said. “We may not have won tonight, but we learned a lot about what it is to be on a team that believes in itself and has one goal in mind.”

 

Taconic’s afternoon got off to a rough start, arriving 30 minutes late to the gym.

 

After a shortened warmup period for the Thunder and despite strong passing from Ciana Bennett (12 digs, 19 serve receives), Taconic dropped the first set by the biggest margin of the night.

 

After falling behind, 2-0, in the match, the Thunder stormed back.

 

“We lost that [second] [set 21-25, but came blasting into the third set off of incredible effort from the whole team and amazing plays like Naomi Tayi's (four kills) diving pancake and Natalia Dos Santos's insane defense, we won 26-24,” Fyfe said of set No. 3.

 

“The fourth set proved to be another adrenaline rush as both teams played at levels that I've only seen in the 18s open level travel volleyball tournaments. I can still see Nyashia Daniels (nine kills, two aces) pounding an overpass straight down and our bench erupting. Nevaeh Williams (five kills) was a real force swinging from the right side of the court causing Springfield's setter and right back some defensive issues as well. This set could have gone either way, and home court advantage may be where credit is due, as we lost 26-28.”

 

Brenna McNeice passed out 16 assists and pulled up 21 digs to go with three kills.

 

Jadyn Galliher finished with 10 digs, 10 serve receives and five kills.

 

“We have so much respect for Springfield Central, and the way they handled the win made us feel good about the whole experience,” Fyfe said. “We look forward to playing them at Taconic in our last match of the season.”

 

The next match for Taconic (6-1) comes on Monday when it travels to Putnam Voc.