Dylan Chen also contributed to this article
On Wednesday, May 6th, the Malden Tornados boys’ volleyball team took on the Revere High School Patriots once again with a strong desire to win to tie the season series. After a 3-0 away loss to Revere earlier in the season, Malden grew eager to win. Knowing that Revere is a tough team, they “studied in hopes to win despite the previous loss,” expressed senior defensive specialist Oscar Luc.
“Going into the game, our initial thoughts and feelings were that we had to get this game back,” stated senior outside hitter Israel DeSouza.
Entering this match, tension arose as Revere, with a 15-1 record, walked through the gym doors while Malden had a 9-4 record. Revere has “been our rivals for the last couple of years,” shared coach Daniel Jurkowski.
Malden and Revere wished each other good luck, did their rituals, and the match began. To open the game, Malden had the first serve but lost the point due to serving out. Despite this, Malden’s energy remained up.
Throughout the game, senior libero Lynkolynn Silva brought the fiery energy that Malden needed. After every point or missed point Malden made, Silva was there cheering his teammates on, no matter what. Coach Daniel Jurkowski expressed how “Lynkolynn is always the one who brings the most energy and passion on the floor.” At “every game,” Silva’s always “trying to hype” everyone up, shared DeSouza.
Not only was Silva illuminating the court with bright enthusiasm, but the crowd helped to cheer on Malden with the purpose of helping keep Malden’s energy alive. During most of the time-outs, the crowd created an uncanny beat and cheered “Go Malden!” Unfortunately, Malden did not win the first set, ending with a 25-22 loss.
With the second set about to start, Malden and Revere switched sides. Junior defensive specialist Joan Diaz Vargas shared how the team realized they ”could win” but “had to play like it.”
The second set began with both teams showing determination and striving to win. After Revere made a point, Malden rebutted it with a bold hit or a smart move. Sophomore outside hitter James Li expressed how he felt that Malden “played good” in the first two sets, with others agreeing. Although the set was close, Malden fell short again with a 24-26 loss.
During the third and final set, Silva and junior setter Hikaru Tao’s heads collided in efforts to keep the ball up, causing Silva to be out for a few minutes. Despite this, Silva persevered and headed back into the game with the crowd cheering him on for his dedication to this match. Malden unfortunately did not win the third set with a 25-13 loss, leading to a 3-0 win for Revere. “I think we had our ups and downs, but overall, we did better than I expected,” shared junior defensive specialist Ken Lin.
Following the tough 3-0 loss against Revere, the Malden Boys Volleyball Team earned an important win against Woburn on May 14th, defeating them in four sets with a final score of 3-1. After losing to Woburn last season, this year’s victory showed improvement and gave Malden momentum as the state tournament gets closer.
From the start of the match, Malden came out with strong energy and controlled most of the game through consistent serving and communication. The team set the tone early and carried momentum through most of the match. “We recognized pretty early in the match that if we served well, we would be in a strong position, and we served well basically for the entirety of the match,” coach Jurkowski said.
That early energy helped build confidence on the court. “I think a specific play that gave us confidence was Adrian’s line shot in the first set to start the set off,”Desouza said.
Malden kept control through the first set, but the match still had challenges. Set two became Malden’s weakest and only set they lost. Players said maintaining focus became difficult after gaining an early advantage.
“I think the hardest part of last night’s match was after set two, we tried to keep our energy going because we tend to play down to our opponent’s level if we’re already up a lot,” Desouza explained.
Even after losing set two, Malden responded quickly and returned to playing with more intensity. Players said communication played a major role in helping the team recover and stay organized.
“Communication on the court affected the outcome, even though we were just communicating properly and we were doing what we needed to do and saying what we needed to do, so I feel like that helped a lot towards our win,” Desouza said.
In addition to communication, strategy helped Malden create more scoring opportunities throughout the match.
“We led the hitters to swing into our strong passers, letting us attack every point,”Li said.
Coach Jurkowski said the team’s experience and attitude also played an important role in helping them stay calm under pressure.“Everyone responds to pressure differently, but for us collectively, we have 10 seniors, so our guys are very experienced and there are many scenarios that will surprise them or make them uncomfortable,” Jurkowski said.
Meanwhile, support from the crowd helped keep the team motivated and maintain energy throughout important moments.
As a result of the win, Malden improved its position heading into the state tournament and increased its chances of earning a home game.Although the team celebrated the win, players said there is still room to improve.
“After this win, we want to improve probably a little bit more on serve receives and just running plays with setters,” Desouza said.
Ethan Yang also stated, “We still want to improve our consistency and start games with more energy and continue to lead a start and maintain momentum.”
As states get closer, Malden hopes to keep building consistency and maintain the same energy that helped secure this win. The team showed that even after dropping a set, they stayed focused and finished strong.
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