TheBerkshire Badgers boys’ volleyball team continues to get off to a slow start this season. The Badgers remained winless when they dropped a five-setter, losing 25-19, 23-25, 17-25, 25-12, and 15-5 against Mayfield last Wednesday evening in Burton.
“Some people might say it is a maturity thing where you have to get used to that pressure and we are definitely learning some of that,” said Coach Tim Percic. “In general, I think there is going to be a lot of improvement where everything is clicking. We are trying things that was not apparent on the floor, but we get it done in practice.”
After losing the third set 25-17 to trail 2-1 entering the fourth set, Berkshire (0-2) finally engineered a dominant run, racing to a 9-2 lead, fueled by strong service games by junior outside hitter Jacob Starr and junior middle hitter Anthony Masters, who combined to record five aces in that span.
The Badgers remained in control with strong service games from other players and cruised to a 25-12 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the final set sparked by Starr’s service game, Berkshire’s momentum evaporated by surrendering six straight points and fell behind 9-3. The Badgers could not close the gap, falling 15-5 en route to losing its second straight match of the early season. Wildcats’ senior Mackenzie Neal sparked Mayfield by recording three kills in that run.
The Badgers’ second-year coach said he was pleased to see his squad show a renewed effort in the fourth set but added that his team demonstrated its youth in the fifth set.
“That goes back to the level of experience and maturity,” he acknowledged. “There is a lot of temptation that when things go well that it will automatically keep going well but in the fifth set, we made a lot of silly mistakes get in our way and it cost us. The great news is that all of that is fixable.”
Following a strong debut last season in which Berkshire was one game away from contending for a berth in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state semifinals, the Badgers return this season with a new alignment.
Last year, Berkshire was propelled by outside hitter Apollo Percic but with him graduating and the team welcoming seven freshman this season, the Badgers will attempt to be a more complete team, having more middle hitters to complement their outside hitters.
“The bad news is we lost Apollo, but we now have a bunch of above average players that just have to get some chemistry,” Percic said. “That is where we are at.”
In addition to having a big freshman class, the Badgers return only four starters from last year in junior setter Ryan Kessinger, junior libero Trent Hornak, Starr and Masters.
Although the Badgers’ roster does not have a senior this year, Percic said he could see the positives in having a squad that would be playing together for the next several years.
“I think their expectations are higher than we are able to back up right now,” he added. “In a couple of weeks, I think we will see a different team and it will be a positive change.”
Each team struggled with its ball control in the first two sets including the service game, hitting the balls into the net or out-of-bounds. In the first set, a back-and-forth affair had the score knotted at 17-17 but Berkshire surged ahead with a 5-0 run to go up 22-17 and closed out the Wildcats 25-19 to take a 1-0 advantage.
It was another tightly contested battle in the second set, but the Wildcats made a late run to take a 24-21 lead. Berkshire did not go away quietly, trimming the lead to 24-23, but Dominic Calabrese delivered the set-winning swing to even the score at 1-1.
The Wildcats’ ball control vastly improved in the third set, taking an early 12-3 lead and never relinquished control, winning the set by a 25-17 margin to go ahead 2-1.
“I have to hand it to Mayfield,” Percic said. “They are a first-year team, and they have a great setter and that is one of the key chess pieces on the board. If you do not have a setter than you are searching.”
Berkshire responded with a dominant fourth set, tying the score at 2-2 to force a fifth frame, fueled by Starr, who recorded six aces and two kills and pushed the Badgers ahead to another fast start in the fifth set, but it was not enough to fend off Mayfield.
Following a road match against Warren Howland on Tuesday evening, the Badgers will compete in a tournament at Akron Firestone High School on Saturday morning.
