It was almost as if the match was over when there was still another set to play.
Susan Wagner evened things up with Bronx Science and a hush came over what was a boisterous Wolverines home crowd. Some students filed out. The atmosphere completely changed – from the stands to the Science bench.
“Not pulling it out was the ultimate momentum changer,” Wolverines coach Jeremy Bass said of the second set. “Once [Wagner] saw that they could take a set, it was like, ‘We’re back in business.’”
Indeed, the fifth-seeded Falcons came out in the third set like gangbusters and ended up rolling to a 23-25, 26-24, 25-15 win against No. 4 Bronx Science in the PSAL Class A girls volleyball quarterfinals Wednesday in The Bronx.
In the second set, Science (13-1) came back from a 24-21 deficit to tie things at 24-all on a kill by sophomore Dominique Watt (14 kills). But Wagner senior outside hitter Emily Burke followed with a kill and Watt just missed hitting the back line on an attack to give the Falcons the set victory.
Bass, though, points to earlier on in that set as when things started going bad for his team. When it was 16-all, Burke rotated into the back row for Wagner (14-0), but Science missed a golden opportunity with some mistakes, including a big service error.
“I felt if we made a surge there, we could have buried them,” Bass said.
Stopping the Hofstra-bound Burke, who finished with 24 kills, became difficult for the Wolverines. It seemed like early on they had her figured out, but she picked it up toward the end of the first set and really started hammering the ball.
“She just has a really high contact point,” Bass said. “She can place the ball wherever she’d like to and she hits hard to boot, so we just hoped to get a touch on the block. She obviously took over like she’s capable of doing.”
All in all, it was an exceptional season for Bronx Science considering all its youth. Watt is just a sophomore, superb setter Elissa Shiau is a freshman and middle hitter Mary Platt is just a sophomore. Bass will also have junior libero Anna Baron, who played very well Wednesday, and junior outside hitter Annie Lee back in the fold for next year.
“I told them I thought we had a great season when you consider winning the JFK tournament, winning the division,” the coach said. “These aren’t things we expected to do at the beginning of the year. Where we go from here, the returning girls really have to raise the bar as to what they expect next year, make volleyball a priority in the offseason.”