Entering Saturday, May 9 the Wolves were coming off of their state quarterfinal win over Columbus High School. In the semi-finals, they would face Archbishop McCarthy High School.
“We have never played them before, so we have to go into the game with the mentality that we can’t take them lightly,” said senior Tyler Womick before the game.
The Wolves fell behind in the first set initially, but then went on a 6-1 run. Junior Michael MacGillivary and senior Jassiem Obie started strong, killing multiple balls to give the Wolves an early 10-6 lead.
However that lead would shrink and eventually evaporate completely. The Mavericks went on a 16-7 run, during which coach Cameron Stevens took two timeouts. He was steaming. The Wolves went on to lose the set 25-20 and fall behind 1-0 in the match.
The second set went back and forth, with both squads exchanging points. Eventually, the Mavericks would go up by three before another Stevens timeout. With the Wolves down 16-13 in the set and 1-0 in the match, coach knew how imperative coming back to win the set was.
The Mavs were able to preserve their three point advantage and win the set 25-22. The Wolves were now behind 2-0 in the match, but they wouldn’t go away easily.
The Wolves took an early 8-3 lead to start the third set, but Archbishop fought back throughout. The teams traded points until it was 21-21 and coach Stevens called time. Obie then killed the final four points, leading them to a 25-23 win.
In set four, the Wolves fell behind early by three. However, they pushed back and took a one point lead 9-8 to force an Archbishop timeout. The teams would once again trade points until the Mavericks went on a 5-1 run and took an 18-14 lead.
The Wolves dug deep and fought all the way back to take a 22-21 lead, but they could not seal the deal, losing 3-1. Archbishop would advance to the state championship, while the Wolves would go home.
“It sucks knowing we were right there, and couldn’t close it out,” said junior Eric Crowe. “It sort of shocked all of us that our season just ended.”
At 25-5, the team had one of the best runs in school volleyball history. They were one of the final four teams in Florida competing for a title, finishing 3rd. It was a special season for everyone.
“This playoff run really shows that any team can make a run,” said Crowe. “TC Volleyball is back on the map.”
