The pressure was squarely on the shoulders of Bronx Science, that much was for certain.
The school made a day just for the Wolverines boys volleyball team. There was a pep rally, a food fair and the bus schedules were even adjusted to make sure as many students as possible could come to the 5:30 p.m. PSAL Bronx V match against Lehman.
And did they ever. Science packed the bleachers full of kids wearing green and gold, some with face paint and all with noisemakers.
“We can’t bring a whole crowd in, give them Thunderstix and end up losing,” Wolverines senior star Daniel Dworakowski said.
For awhile, though, that looked like a possibility. Science lost the first set, routed Lehman in the second and gutted out the third in a 20-25, 25-8, 25-21 win Thursday afternoon. Afterward, the huge crowd mobbed the players on the court as if they just won the PSAL championship.
“This was the boys volleyball team,” Science senior outside hitter Dustin Lee said. “Volleyball isn’t like basketball or football is. For the first time we were kind of the heroes.”
An incredible effort by libero senior Matthew Mo changed the complexion of the decisive set. He made three saves in a row on a single point, the third an amazing pancake dig to set up a kill by senior opposite Benjamin Kim. That got Science (8-0 Bronx V) within 19-18, but did so much more for the team’s psyche.
“I tell them all the time, it’s not going to be the big kill that’s going to be the momentum turner,” Wolverines coach Jeremy Bass said. “It’s the little things. … You could see the body language on both sides change.”
Science didn’t look back from there, scoring six of the next eight points to finish off Lehman (6-2).
“A pancake in the heat of the moment like that is extremely difficult to pull off,” Dworakowski said. “The whole momentum shifted. The crowd went insane, that definitely helped.”
The loud and raucous crowd actually hurt Bronx Science early on. The Wolverines dropped a back-and-forth first set, like they did the last time against the Lions. Dworakowski said his team has a tendency to overlook the competition at times. It was even worse because of how pumped Science got in warm-ups with the crowd standing and thumping their Thunderstix.
“They were playing well,” Lee said. “We were just playing to the crowd.”
Bass told them after the first set to just play like the match had just started. Science responded by coming out on a tear, taking leads of 6-0, 17-3 and 23-7.
“That definitely made us relax,” Bass said.
But the Wolverines once again found themselves in a war in the third set. The Lions were extremely game, but Dworakowski finished the match in spectacular fashion with an ace that whipped the fans into a frenzy. It’ll certainly make for some good television.
“It was awesome,” Bass said of the atmosphere. “It like a grassroots effort, through Facebook and public-address announcements.”
Science sent them all home happy. The Wolverines are prone to some stumbles, like dropping a set to Lehman twice, but they have emerged as one of the top teams in the PSAL. They showed that off in flashes Thursday, especially in the second set.
“Once we get the engine rolling,” Lee said, “we’re pretty hard to stop.”