Somers Loses Five Set Thriller to Scarsdale

See photos at end of article

On Tuesday September 9, the boys volleyball team took the floor at the high school and notched multiple match points. But the Tuskers could not finish.

Losing the final two, they had to settle for a five set defeat.

The Tuskers did come out smoking, though, and Jacob Anderson played the main hand in the 4-0 lead. The setter served two aces and set up Jaiden Marichal for a pair of kills.

A mishit by Marichal got Scarsdale on the board but the Somers ace wasn’t out there alone. Marc Mundis dinked to a 9-3 lead, and Ryan Ball extended by one with a right side kill.

Less eye catching, the teams traded errors for a 14-7 game. But Somers was re-sparked by the opening act. Anderson to Marichal and Scarsdale could only watch the kill fly by.

Up 16-7, Anderson went solo next. Up for the block, the setter succeeded, and the ten point lead put the writing on the wall.

Marichal picking up the pen, he pushed a tight set for a 20-10 lead and then added four aces. His long serve kept Scarsdale alive, but a Mundis dink settled matters.

A 25-11 victory, the tusks looked pretty sharp. Unfortunately, the Raiders had other ideas and jumped out to a 12-5 lead.

An errant serve broke the run, and Somers piled on by playing big. Marichal unleashed from the left, and Jordan Daniyan added a block to his two center slams.

Up 13-12, Marichal took the mantle from his teammate. The hitter registered four kills and gave his team a 20-14 lead.

Scarsdale refused to go away, though. On the strength of a kill by Jason Wollman and a Armaan Zaidi ace, the Raiders evened up at 20-20.

Back and forth the game went until Mundis gave the elephants some breathing space. He hit from the left, and Somers led 24-22.

Not quite there, Scarsdale tied the score, and the Tuskers needed an answer. So Daniyan and Anderson made the grade, and a double wall block was good for set point.

Too early to celebrate, Mundis served into the net, and Scarsdale took their turn. Two consecutive aces and it was 1-1.

Somers kept their heads up nonetheless. An ace by Marichal tied the score at 2-2, and Daniyan gave the boys a 5-4 lead with a block. Mundis followed with an ace, and after Daniyan registered another block, Mundis went acrobatic for some separation.

In the backcourt, he had made two consecutive diving digs before Scarsdale hit out and Mundis was just getting started. Around a Marichal kill and ace and a Ball dink, Mundis had a dink, a kill and an ace.

Up 19-12, Somers was on the brink. Unfortunately, Scarsdale missed the message. They would tie the score at 24, but Daniyan restored order at deuce. A Kill and block had Somers prevailing.

Onto game three, Somers grabbed a 4-3 lead on a Scarsdale carry and began separating on a Daniyan kill. Growing to three, Daniyan had a hand again. Adding a knee, he made a diving save and Marichal knocked another kill.

Now 9-6, Marichal maintained the margin with another kill. This time painting the line, the lead grew to 11-7 on a Scarsdale error, but Somers could not pull away.

Zaidi cut the lead to one with a kill, and next drew even at 12. Still, the Tuskers persevered. Justin Cirioni killed from the center, Max Weinfeld dealt an ace, and Daniyan blocked Somers to a 16-12 lead.

From there, the boys maintained. Daniyan had a kill and block for a 19-15 score, and Anderson kept up appearances. His block made it 20-16 and a set to Marichal at 20-17 really showed the synergy.

Set to a perfect height, Marichal squared up the tee shot and the big dog took a huge bite. In for a 21-17 lead, it was four points for the match.

A Marichal kill ticked down another, but fate was not kind. Marichal went up and landed with an injury.

Out of the game, Somers saw their lead cut to one. 22-21, the Tuskers pushed on anyway. Ball dropped a dink, and Daniyan registered another kill for match point.

A long way to go, Scarsdale forced deuce, and the Tuskers were on the spot. So Mundis answered with a block.

Match point number two was followed by a third. First Somers was in the net to tie, and Scarsdale answered with an errant serve. Unable to finish, Scarsdale took the lead when Ball’s push landed just past the end line.

Making up for the near miss, Ball’s diving save dropped for another deuce but a front row push by Will Hesketh put Scarsdale a point away. Scarsdale was generous on serve again, though.

Another long serve tied the game, but Somers returned the favor, and this time Hesketh answered with an ace.

Two games a piece, Somers jumped to a 5-2 lead but that was all. Zaidi blocked to even up, and the lead growing, Somers never caught up in the 15-10 deciding loss.

Click image for photos