Lightning left still searching

Rick Devereux

A veteran team works together effortlessly. The players react to

situations and play with almost immediate instincts.

The problem with a young team is the players can second-guess and

hesitate. It can drive a coach crazy as the team plays great one

minute only to commit mistakes the next.

The second scenario fits the Sage Hill School boys volleyball team

like a glove.

The Lightning lost to visiting Oxford Academy, 19-25, 25-17,

25-14, 25-13, in the Academy League opener for both teams.

“[Tuesday night], we beat ourselves,” Coach Merja Connolly-Freund

said. “We need to work on our mental preparation before the match.”

Sage Hill had the talent to not just compete with but beat the

Patriots on the 29 1/2 -foot-by-59-foot court in the first game. The

Lightning fell in the final three games due largely to what happened

in the six inches between their ears.

“In Game 2 we had a lot of passing errors and unforced errors,”

Connolly-Freund said. “The number of mental errors and our

inconsistency is a sign of how young of a team we are.”

Sage Hill (0-7, 0-1 in league) has one senior on the team and

three other players that have never played the game before this

season.

The team showed a glimpse of what they are capable of by battling

back from a 5-1 hole to take an 11-7 lead. Junior Jake Lazere, the

only Lightning player with varsity experience, served five points

with three service aces to take the lead.

But even in the win Sage Hill exhibited rookie mistakes. The

Lighting let Oxford climb back from a 20-11 hole thanks to a

foot-fault violation on a serve and two bad passes to make it 20-15.

Junior middle blocker Mike Morgan, playing volleyball for the first

time, closed out the first game with a kill.

“Morgan is really starting to move like a middle blocker,”

Connolly-Freund said. “He is fun to coach because he has such a love

for the game. He has really grown a lot [since the start of the

season].”

The Patriots capitalized on the momentum from the end of the first

game to cruise out to a 13-3 lead in the second game. Sage Hill made

a late push at 24-14, but it was not enough.

The snowball continued to roll downhill on the Lightning in the

third game. Oxford opened with a 10-2 lead with six points coming

from unforced Lighting errors plus three service aces.

A kill from junior Shayne Webster closed Sage to 12-8, but that

was as close as the Lighting would get.

Oxford took a 6-0 lead in the fourth game, with four points coming

from unforced errors and the other two from service aces. Sage

players looked tentative and indecisive going for the ball, an act

that comes from a lack of confidence.

“I think that hesitation we had is from us being a beaten team,”

Connolly-Freund said.

Sage Hill is coming off spring break, but Connolly-Freund said the

team can not use rustiness as an excuse.