Cape Tech Volleyball Falls In First Round Of State Tournament

ROCKLAND, MASS. – A strong night on defense wasn’t enough for the Cape Cod Tech volleyball team to pick up an underdog win Thursday, Oct. 30 in the first round of the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament.

The No. 21 seed Crusaders (10-8) fell 3-0 to No. 12 Calvary Chapel Academy (16-3), losing sets of 25-21, 25-16 and 25-20. Cape Tech performed well defensively but couldn’t keep pace on offense for the most part.

“Our defense was so amazing,” senior Sofia Todoroff said. “There was so much talking on the court. Everybody was doing their role on defense. It was so amazing. It finally came together after all the practices. It was so good today.”

Head coach Jasmine Goncalo said Cape Tech was nervous heading into the match, and at the early outset after a few hits into the net, it seemed that it took a minute for players to get their legs underneath them. Inside Calvary Chapel’s close-quarters gym, a strip of tall glass windows on one side of the court also allowed spectators in an adjacent room to peer right behind Cape Tech’s serve for the first and third sets. 

Cape Tech kept the opening set as close as 23-21 until Calvary Chapel pulled away. During that set, Goncalo refrained from calling timeout due to a belief and faith in her players, she said. She even asked Todoroff if she needed a second, to which Todoroff said no.

“She definitely pulled it together, her energy on the court,” Goncalo said. “Even when everyone's making mistakes, she's keeping everyone high-spirited. She's like, ‘No, you've got this,’ so I think overall she's an amazing player, and I think she did really well today.”

In the second set, the Crusaders dug themselves into a 9-2 hole that proved insurmountable. Todoroff, during the set, saved a ball that pinballed up in the rafters, a rally the Crusaders eventually won in one of the crazier plays of the match. 

“Just really have to go for it,” she said. “Like this is my last high school game, and you got to leave it all on the court, so it's definitely something to look back on and be like, ‘Yes, I did get that ball up, and we did get the point.’”

Calvary Chapel’s defense in the third set seemed nearly impenetrable as players made dig after dig. Rarely did a Cape Tech attack seem to drop onto the hardwood for a point on the first go.

“Their serves were very good, and they kept their consistency,” Todoroff said. “They were very consistent. We definitely kind of ebbed and flowed a little bit, and I thought that they kept picking up our hits and our tips, and all our offense didn't equal their offense in a sense.”

Sophomore captain Colbie Adams starred for Calvary Chapel, making one-handed digs and hitting rockets for kills with her left hand. 

For the Crusaders, Todoroff had 16 kills, Gianna Lubash had 9 blocks, Juliana Santana had 9 kills, and Gabi DaCosta, a libero, made 32 digs.

“I thought our digs were very good today,” Todoroff said. “We definitely locked down some of those strong hitters, and we definitely learned and changed our defense to them.”

The idea of energy and its effect on the game was something Goncalo was going to take away from this season’s team, she said. 

“You have to keep good energy,” Goncalo said. “You have to believe in your teammates. You have to uplift each other. The bench needs to be screaming and yelling hype, otherwise it's just dead and there's no energy. And when there's no energy, you don't play well, and I think that's a big thing to take with us into upcoming years.”