The middle school A team made an impressive run through the Holy Cross Knight Showcase this weekend, but fell just short in its title hopes with an 11-25, 24-26, loss to the hosts in the championship match.
The Patriots (12-6-1) were a little overmatched by the strong serving of Holy Cross early in the contest and never really recovered. The Knights never trailed in a comfortable 14-point first-set win.
Needing the tide to change, FEAST received an unexpected but welcomed boost from the parents and siblings in the crowd. About 15 of the Patriots’ faithful began to “pump, pump, pump” them up for the second set, rivaling the home crowd of roughly 75 in attendance, and the impact was significant.
The Patriots led for several instances in the second set, but mostly the lead changed hands as the two teams battled in a much better display of skill. The two teams were knotted up at 13 when Holy Cross scored on three straight Patriots errors and forced a time out.
The Knights eventually built a 23-19 advantage when a serve error sent the ball back to the Patriots. Gabi Enriquez then made a four-serve run, including an ace, as the late rally tied the set at 23. The teams traded points before the hosts snagged two in a row to close the match.
“Finishing second is never the goal, but there were some good takeaways from the weekend,” head coach Laura Force said. “We beat some quality teams along the way, but the real story for us is that we showed that we have the ability to fight to the finish. I was really proud in the second set that they came back after the huge deficit. It’s hard to come back and fight in that spot, and they did.”
FEAST arrived in the title game after a Friday quarterfinal victory over St. Gregory, 25-16, 25-23, and a Saturday morning semifinal win over St. Anthony, 25-21, 23-25, 15-6.
Enriquez was selected as the team’s tournament MVP, while Emaleigh Force also received a tournament award.
Comments --