WELLESLEY – For a team lacking in playoff experience, the No. 21 Weymouth boys volleyball team looked at ease on Wednesday as it opened the MIAA Division I state tournament by upsetting No. 12 Wellesley, 3-1, in the Round of 32.
“We were the underdogs, and we really wanted to prove ourselves against this team,” Weymouth libero Andrew Benoit said. “We’re slowly building this program up from the ground, and this is a huge win for us to be able to come into this tournament and win game one.”
With a roster featuring only two seniors, the Wildcats were severely outmatched within a loaded Bay State Conference early on. But that hardship hardened them and helped them learn to win difficult matchups, as was the case against Wellesley.
Despite dropping the first set 25-19, Weymouth refused to quit in the second, even after Wellesley took a 5-1 lead out of the gate.
Slowly but surely, the Wildcats clawed the score back to even and eventually claimed their first lead of the match after Oscar Cordner drove an attempt by the Raiders back the other way with a thunderous block.
The two sides traded points as the set wore on. A 17-17 score soon became 21-21, then 25-25, and so on and so forth. By the time the scoreboard read 30-all, it felt as if the set was destined to last forever.
Soon enough, though, Cordner, at long last, sent a ball over the net that didn’t so much echo throughout the gym but still provided plenty of emphasis as it finally closed the set in Weymouth’s favor 33-31.
“The second set was really what turned the tide for us,” Cordner said. “In the first set, there were a lot of nerves, so there was a little bit of anxiety about it. But once we lost and realized that if we didn’t win this game, our season was over until next year. It really clicked with us, and it really brought us together.”
Weymouth took the third set 25-20 and then the fourth and final 25-22. With its defense leaving Wellesley frustrated and eventually in shock, Cordner finished the match with nine total blocks, and Benoit collected 32 digs.
“The guys are getting more confident in the block,” Weymouth coach Bill McEachern said. “They have that attitude of, ‘I’m not going to let a ball drop.’ ‘I’m hitting the floor for a teammate,’ kind of attitude defensively. Nothing hits easy on our side. That’s their mentality.”
That mentality will only help Weymouth and becomes that much more important as it advances in the tournament.
The Wildcats will face the winner of Friday’s matchup between No. 5 Lexington and No. 37 Medford in the Round of 16.
