When coach Jonathan Flower was gifted a called timeout by visiting Manchester Memorial early in the third set, he seized the moment to calm his team down.
Concord and Memorial were tied in low, single digits, Flower’s message was simple yet effective.
“Don’t drop the intensity.”
That’s all it took for the Crimson Tide to snap out of their early game haze and complete the 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-9) sweep over the Crusaders in the season opener for both teams.
The intensity that Flower referred to in his brief huddle is what put Concord in a position for the sweep. It opened up the match with a 14-3 lead in the first set and an even more impressive 15-2 start in the second set.
Multiple factors contributed to the strong openings for the Crimson Tide. Ranging from errors and misplayed balls by Memorial to precision passing and early showings of chemistry, Concord came out with an unrivaled sense of confidence.
Concord’s third set began with some back-and-forth play that it hadn’t experience at any point during Wednesday’s game. After Flower’s message, however, things clicked and the Crimson Tide rattled off a 6-0 run. And then a 4-0 run. And then the biggest run of the night – 8-0.
It wasn’t led by a singular player, however, but by a consistent team effort. It’s the style of play Flower wants to see and also knows that it could lead to something greater down the road.
“This is the kind of team where if we can do it well and keep up the intensity, we can probably, I don’t want to jinx it so I’m not even going to say it,” Flower said with a laugh.
Championship aspirations are something – no matter the state of a program – every team should have. Certainly, a program like Concord should always have those aspirations. And while it is only one game in a long season, it’s not unreasonable to vocalize goals.
Again, it’s only one game.
Part of a championship effort is talking on the court. Volleyball is a vocal game and communication was key for the Crimson Tide.
Random digits were called out throughout the night as if they were speaking in a secretive language. Those numbers and secret language all have a specific meaning, however. According to Flower, they can range from floor spots and position switching to opposing players and where the ball might go.
Flower was happy to see that all the summer’s worth of work of communicating paid off in the opener.
“It’s been one of our main focuses of our practices,” he said. “We’ve been trying to have on-the-court coaches with our communication.”
Concord’s player coaches can take it as long as a championship run or an early exit.
But again, it’s only one game.