Concord High’s volleyball season has been somewhat analogous to Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every thrilling victory, there’s been an equally debilitating loss.
The Crimson Tide’s first 12 games have included an 0-3 start and a four-game winning streak. Yet even though they carried that win streak into Wednesday’s game against Pinkerton (5-7), the Tide couldn’t sustain their latest high, dropping to 6-6 after the 3-1 loss.
Each set was close – Pinkerton won sets one, three and four (25-17, 25-19, 25-23); Concord took the second (25-19) – but anytime the Tide seemed to build momentum, the Astros quickly took it away.
“The thing that really set them apart from us was we were really struggling with our serve receive,” Concord head coach Jonathan Flower said. “They had some really good line-drive serves which we were having a hard time controlling. We were just getting out of our offensive routines.”
Despite the inconsistencies, the Tide boast a young roster that includes just two seniors, so they’ve experienced understandable growing pains throughout the season.
And even through the challenges, Flower said he sees the potential in his team.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that when we get a good pass and a good set, we have some incredible hitters on our team,” he said. “But because of their strong serving, we were having a hard time getting into that rhythm to be able to really set them up consistently.”
Looking ahead, the Tide have six games remaining in the regular season, including matchups against Londonberry, Bedford and Hollis-Brookline, all of whom have won at least 10 games and are in the top five of the D-I standings.
Flower’s young group will certainly have to earn its way into a postseason appearance, but he said he believes they’re not that far off.
“I still think this is a competitive team,” he said. “If we stay consistent, cut down the unforced errors, then we can be competitive with anyone.”
Now, the key is finding that consistency that has eluded the Tide throughout 2022.