Mounties too much for Pats in D-I quarterfinals

Matt Metcalf
Posted 6/2/15

The Pilgrim boys’ volleyball team was confident heading into its Division I quarterfinal match-up at Mount St. Charles on Thursday night, feeling that its squad matched up well with D-I-North’s …

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Mounties too much for Pats in D-I quarterfinals

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The Pilgrim boys’ volleyball team was confident heading into its Division I quarterfinal match-up at Mount St. Charles on Thursday night, feeling that its squad matched up well with D-I-North’s top seed.

Unfortunately for the Pats, they just couldn’t contain the firepower of the Mounties, as the home team rolled to a 3-0 sweep behind 25-19, 25-22 and 25-11 victories.

However, the first two games did suggest that Pilgrim matched up well with Mount.

Even though the Pats went into enemy territory with the majority of the crowd rooting against them, they battled until the final point in the first two games.

If a handful of those points went the other way, the ultimate outcome in the match could’ve been different.

But Pilgrim head coach Mike McGiveron gave credit to the Mounties for taking advantage of his team’s mistakes. McGiveron did note that his team was right there throughout the match, though.  

“You’re at 19-19 in the first, 21-21 in the second and 9-9 in the third,” McGiveron said. “We’ve had a tough time closing out matches and games all season long. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not for a lack of effort. These guys gave me everything. But we gave them too many free balls, and they were able to take advantage of that and set up their offense. We just gave them too much free stuff.”

The first game was back and forth between the two teams on Friday, but with the score tied late, Mount began to pull away. Mount sophomore Jarod Tessier ultimately came through with a kill to put the first game away, as the Mounties took control early.

In game two, Mount jumped out to a 15-8 lead, as it looked like it was going to glide to a 2-0 advantage.

But Pilgrim battled back, tying the score at 21-21, with the hopes of tying the match at 1.

However, Mount’s crowd amped up its intensity level in the late stages of game two, and so did the Mounties.

Mount staved off the Pats’ comeback bid by closing out game two with a big kill from Steven Ward.

In game three, Pilgrim and Mount traded points early, as the score was tied, 9-9, after the first 18 points.

Then, Mount went on a rare run.

With Tessier serving, Mount rattled off 14 straight points, including four aces, as the favorite took a commanding 23-9 lead.

Pilgrim took a timeout at that point, which helped to end the run.

The Pats came out and won the next point, thanks to a service error by Tessier, but the 14 consecutive points pushed the match out of reach for Pilgrim.

Senior Rob Quaine led the Pats with 10 kills and five blocks, while fellow senior Blake Doelling registered five kills and three aces and junior Ethan Schneider posted five kills in the loss.

If steady improvement is what Pilgrim wants to achieve, then it’s trending in the right direction.

Not only did Pilgrim make it to the Division I quarterfinals, but it also finished with a record of 8-8 – the program’s best record since making the move to D-I in 2013.

“In 2013, we were 3-13, last year we were 6-10 and this season we were 8-8 and made the playoffs,” McGiveron said. “It’s something to use for the younger guys to hopefully build the success on that.”

For the seniors, there’s never a good way to go out unless you win that last game, but McGiveron is proud of how that group has helped to build the program.

“The seniors who I had this year have done a good job of preaching the program,” McGiveron said. “I have four guys who have been with me all four years. They’re all great people and will go on to do great things. This is just a little bump in the road for them.”

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