When the Whaler volleyball team blew a 22-11 lead in the fourth set of Friday’s match against the Falmouth Clippers, head coach Andrew Viselli was curious to see how his team would respond in their next game after dropping to 8-6 on the season and with one less chance to clinch a playoff berth. They responded well in Viselli’s eyes on Sunday morning, beating the Sturgis West Navigators 3-1 to clinch that elusive spot in the state tournament they have been chasing all season long.
“This has been a really long week but I felt like we went in there and played very well,” he said. “I thought my middles played well and Bianca (Santos) ran a really nice offense (as our setter). I felt like Chloe Marrero had a fantastic game for us as well. Overall it was a very solid win and there were a lot of positives to take out of it. I think our service can continue to be a little better but it improved in today’s match. I think it was a nice bounce back effort for these girls after what happened in Falmouth.”
The Whalers won the first set 25-22 but lost the second set 20-25. Santos had 23 assists and Marrero had a team-high 13 kills.
“I think what they accomplished today was really impressive considering that Sturgis West has become a rival of ours and they beat us up at home earlier this year,” Viselli said.
The Whalers won the final two sets 25-16 and 25-20 respectively. Nantucket will have some time to rest up before their next match on Thursday at 4 pm against the Rising Tide Herons in Plymouth.
In other Whaler sports news from this weekend,
Boys Soccer Shuts Out Archbishop Williams
The Whaler boys soccer team beat the Archbishop Williams Bishops 1-0 Saturday afternoon to improve their record to 8-3-1 this season. Head coach Rich Brannigan II said the style of play in Saturday’s match was very similar to what his team will be dealing with in the state tournament.
“The environment, the intensity of the game, the level of play, they were all lessons we needed to learn so it was very good that we were able to have that opportunity to experience those,” he said.
Yeison Castro scored the Whalers only goal midway through the second half.
“It was a really intense defensive battle most of the game but I felt like we carried the play most of the way,” Brannigan said. “We had some high quality looks throughout the game. You need to figure out how to win 1-0 games, flip the script, and just find ways to get that one goal in a 1-0 game regardless of what it takes.”
The Whalers will host the Nauset Warriors, who beat Nantucket 5-0 last month, on Tuesday at 4 pm.
Field Hockey Ties St. John Paul II 1-1
The Whaler field hockey team looked like they were going to cruise to a 1-0 win Saturday morning over the St. John Paul II Lions in Hyannis. They were carrying the play for most of the game and peppering the Lion’s goalie with shots. But with under two minutes to go in the game the Lions scored on their second shot on goal to tie it and avoid their second loss of the season to Nantucket.
The Whalers are currently 4-7-2 and will look to earn their fifth win today in an away matchup with the Falmouth Clippers at 3:30 pm.
Girls Soccer Loses 3-0
The Whaler girls soccer team lost to Archbishop Williams 3-0 Saturday afternoon. Head coach Brian King said he felt like his team was flat to begin the game but started to play better as the match progressed.
“It was (Archbishop Williams) homecoming and senior night,” King said. “They scored two early goals on their first two shots with great placement. Macy (Crowell) had no chance to save them. After that we settled down and had a few scoring opportunities ourselves. We moved some players around at halftime because we only had one substitute.”
The Whalers are still searching for their first win of the season and will play next on Tuesday when they travel to take on the Nauset Warriors at 4 pm.
