HSMSE Dragons show their lack of experience in a tough loss to Brandeis

Coach Diunte (l.) with his team's three seniors / Monicka Chang

In an exciting boys' volleyball match at the Nat Holman Gymnasium on April 29th  the Brandeis Bulldogs upset the HSMSE Dragons for their first win of the season. The Dragons looked good from the beginning of the game, and at one point were up by seven, but the Bulldogs clawed their way back to a convincing 27-25, 25-19 win.

In their previous meeting. the HSMSE boys’ volleyball team defeated the Brandeis Bulldogs on April 13th; however, they were not able to close out the first set in what appeared to be the young team showing their inexperience. This played a part in how the team approached the second set, with the team continuing to make the same mental lapses that caused them to give up a big lead in the first set. This gave the feeling that they were playing defeated from the start of the second set.

This is not the first lead the Dragons have given up this season; it has been a constant problem for half of the Dragons league’s games. Coach Nick Diunte feels it’s not such a physical problem, but more of a mental struggle for the team.

“I think a lot of it is mental at this point," Diunte said in a post game interview. "I think just mentally they need to have the wherewithal to finish plays and be confident enough to take their best swing."

The Dragons learned a valuable lesson from this loss and look to bounce back in their upcoming games with a different mindset.

Contributed by Henry Schoenfield and Mohammed Kabir