A chilly, rainy October afternoon, perfect for a Somerset-Berkley vs. Bristol Plymouth volleyball game. As the game began you could see the aggressiveness on the team’s faces and feel the nerves exchanging between spectators. The question flowing through everyone’s head is “Will Somerset-Berkley trade in their 6-9 record for better, or worse?” The game begins. Somerset-Berkley begins with a slow start losing their first 3 points to silly mistakes. Each time Bristol Plymouth scores they yell “Ayyyy, 1,2,3!”, then they clap. You know BP is winning when their chant seems natural to you. SB loses points for a loss of feet movement and we fall far behind. SB recruits their points when Mariah Mahjoory starts sending strong serves to the other side of the court. Many SB hits are touching net or going wild after making contact with a Raider. The game becomes much stronger and less predictable for the Raiders as they make terrific saves making them contenders in this match. Sadly, the first game is lost at 23-21.

Sophie Sullivan made numerous great saves putting the Raiders on top in the beginning of the second game. Raiders lost many points due to bad judgement on where the ball will land, inside or outside the boundary. Energy grew on the SB bleachers as the end of game 2 neared with a tied score, 23-23. The second game is won at 25-23 because of a fault on BP’s side. The third game is quickly bouncing back and forth with points for the first 11 plays. SB starts losing momentum due to a loss of energy and falls behind 14-6 only to come back in the next few plays with a score of 18-14; however, BP gained back a few points from SB mistakes, and spikes. The score is now 19-18, SB. The score becomes tight as the game nears its end and the score is 21-20, BP. The serve is up, hit by SB, and…22-20. A long and skilled 2 plays wins SB 2 points once again tying the game up at 22-22. A difficult shot doesn’t make it over the net, and neither does the opposing team’s serve, 23-23. BP fumbles off an SB serve, 24-23, SB.SB hits the net, 24-24. A Raider’s hit fails to make it to the other side of the court, 25-24, BP. BP makes a bad serve that goes beyond the boundaries, 25-25. BP hits the ball out, 26-25, SB. Raiders toy around with the ball too long causing a fault on their side, 26-26. SB hits the ball out…again, 27-26, BP. SB hits the ball out once more losing the game, 28-26, BP. Both sides overall had a messy game, as well as some competitive moments making it exciting and entertaining for the crowd.