After my chaotic introduction to tennis last week, this week, my editors gave me an even more daunting task to cover: volleyball. I mean, I barely know enough about tennis to know who the top stars are. But volleyball? Yikes! I’ve never seen that sport before, only people casually playing together when I used to go to the beach in Maine or on Cape Cod. But, as a company man, I do what I am asked to do. Unlike my misadventure trying to get to the tennis court last week, this week it was a lot easier to reach my destination, as the volleyball game was happening right on campus at the Clark Athletic Center gymnasium. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to see that some guys from the campus baseball team, with whom I took classes, were there to watch the game. The UMass Boston Beacons were playing the Regis Pride. I had never been to a volleyball game before, but I was willing to give it a try.
Not really knowing how the game worked, I assumed that the whole point was to hit the ball past the other team (that’s how I thought tennis worked…not quite). Those girls were amazingly athletic, keeping that ball in the air like it was a hot potato that would’ve exploded when it hit the floor. I’m pretty sure that there was a different kind of serve in this game, as some of the girls just tapped the ball in the air, while others tried to violently smack it past the other team. It apparently runs on some kind of points-based system, as the announcer kept saying “Point, Beacons!”, or “Point, Pride,” whenever the ball landed untouched or out of play (that applies to volleyball, right?). Anyway, since I just spent enough of this article once again mocking my lack of knowledge of the sport, let’s hear about the actual game!
Last night, it seemed like the Beacons were well on their way to sweeping the Pride in straight sets—apparently, in volleyball, they play sets, just like in tennis. Who knew! UMass Boston beat Regis 25–22 in the first set, 25–10 in the second, but lost the last two by a combined score of 52–48. However, the Beacons did not let that break them, as they beat Regis in the fifth set 15–7 to win their third straight match. Senior Marcell Tiscareno from El Paso, Texas had 16 kills over the course of the match to help secure the victory. Tiscareno overall had a .361 hitting percentage in addition to three block solos and two block assists. Graduate student Carsen Komminsk of Worthington, Ohio had a career-best 50 assists in the victory, which is tied for sixth-most assists in a five-match set. She became the first player to record 50 or more assists in a five-match set since Megan Pollock in 2013.
Sophomore Livia Trindade from Sao Luis, Brazil also had a strong night, with 14 kills, while grad student Emilia Czapiewska of Saint Paul, Minnesota had 11 kills and three block assists. Sophomore Ally Dean from Portland, Oregon was another standout performer out of the back court with 22 digs and 39 service receptions. As a group, UMass Boston had 60 kills, their highest of the season so far.
