Wahconah Survives Five-Setter at Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- A match that featured wild swings in momentum Wednesday saved one more for the final set.
And just when it looked like homestanding Taconic would pull out the victory, the Wahconah volleyball team found its footing and prevailed, 26-28, 28-26, 25-21, 24-26, 15-12.
Emma Parkington recorded 17 kills, and Francesca Gigliotti had 19 assists in helping Wahconah improve to 4-2 this season.
Wahconah came into the fifth set after missing an opportunity to close out the match ahead 24-23 with the serve in the fourth.
“Basically, in the fifth set, we try to do it in mini goals,” Wahconah coach David Lussier said. “Be the first team to five, the first team to eight so we can change sides and then the first to 10. And we accomplished all that until they crept back into it and we were at 11-11.
“The momentum swung, and we were fortunate that we had a kill, a couple of nice serves and having Emma Serving at the end of the match was awesome for us.”
Parkington served up a couple of aces Wahconah got the serve at 11-12, putting her team in position for its second match point of the evening.
Taconic (1-4) staved off elimination once. But on the next point, Laiken Cornwell-L’Hote delivered her fifth kill of the match with authority from the left side to end it.
The match started with Taconic prevailing in a back-and-forth first set that saw neither team lead by more than five points after the hosts jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage. Maddy Quinto served up set point to give her team the early lead.
Wahconah rebounded in Set No. 2, which again was dominated by sideouts and again went to extra points. A Parkington ace ended things to make it 1-1.
Wahconah followed with the only “easy” win of the night, a 25-21 victory in the third. Again, Parkington’s serve was decisive. This time, she recorded a couple of aces in a three-point run to get the lead to 24-18.
But Taconic was not finished.
Delaney Ivas lifted her team by serving five straight points in the fourth, turning a 7-6 deficit into an 11-7 lead. Wahconah climbed back into it, gaining its first match point, but a service error gave the serve back to Taconic, and Jasmine Rodriguez served out the set.
“They were playing their hearts out,” Taconic coach Jen Doerle said of her squad. “Just a few little tweaks here and there, and we’re right there with every team. I’m very proud of them.”
Wednesday marked Taconic’s third five-set decision of the young season.
The latest fifth set started with Taconic looking up out of a deep hole after Kelsey LaFreniere served eight straight points -- the longest run for either side all night -- to give Wahconah a 10-3 lead.
“That was a key because she had probably struggled a little bit during the game missing some serves,” Lussier said. “For her to keep her composure there through the end and keep us in the game, that was really important.”
Taconic goes to Chicopee Comp on Thursday. Wahconah hosts Mount Everett on Friday.