Both teams had some downfalls going into the match, though. Borgia’s leading outside hitter, Audrey Arand, was out for the game with a wrist injury; whereas, New Haven’s starting outside hitter, Katie Peirick, was out with a knee injury. Both injuries happened at weekend tournaments.
In the first set, New Haven and Borgia were neck and neck the whole match. On and off, one would lead, but not for very long. Back and forth, both teams were playing aggressively, putting the other’s defense to the test. Borgia ended up taking the first set, 25-23. Although the Shamrocks lost the first set, they kept their composure. In the second set, New Haven served aggressively and made strategic decisions, contributing to their second set win, 25-13.
With the captains called for the the third set coin toss, both teams were on edge. The fans were pumped up, and adrenaline was in the air. New Haven fought a long, hard battle with the Borgia Knights, but ended up losing the match, 25-18. When asked on her thoughts about the game, setter Kenzy Vedder stated, “We went out there and played our hearts out; it showed too. We played as a team, and it was super fun!”
Also, middle blocker Taylor Covington added, "Going into the Borgia game was very nerve-racking. I was so nervous that I prayed multiple times before the game! As the game began to roll on, our team got even more and more excited after every point, and even when we lost the first set, we were still pumped and ready to go for the second set. The second set was the most exciting set of the night. Kenzy got her AMAZING pancake, we were serving aggressive, and our kills were domination. When we won that set, I truly felt that we were going to bring that same intensity to the third. Maybe we were tired, or maybe we just got down on ourselves, but losing that game I believe triggered something in all of us. We don't want to lose to any team.”
Although the Shamrocks didn’t pull out the win, they didn’t go out without a fight. The Shamrocks are now 11-4-2.
-by Lauren Bergner