Comeback falls short, Abby loses to Eagles

The sixth-seeded Abbotsford Falcons were one point away from forcing a fifth set in their second-round playoff match-up with Auburndale. Up 24-22 in the fourth set, the Falcons could not find that elusive final point, eventually falling to the third-seeded Eagles 27-25 in the set and 3-1 in the match.

It was a tough loss for a Falcons squad that really did not find its groove until the midway point in the match. Slow starts had been a problem for Abbotsford in the past, and it once again plagued the team in what would be their final match of the season.

Auburndale controlled the first set, utilizing the heavy hitting of senior outside hitter Josie Ertl to pull away early. Abbotsford managed to bring themselves back within striking distance, bringing the score to 19-16 late, but that was all the closer the Falcons would get. The Eagles weathered the late push from the visitors and took the first set 25-18.

The home team continued to roll in their start to the second set, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. A timeout seemed to settle the Falcons, who started their climb back into the set. They’d come within one point at 9-8 and would win a long rally to bring the score to 12-11. Auburndale committed two hitting errors to give Abbotsford the lead, but it was a short-lived one. The Eagles tied the game at 13-13 on the next rally, which turned out to be the start of a six-point run for the home team. Abbotsford never recovered, dropping the second set 25-16.

Heading into the third set, the Falcons knew they needed to complete a reverse sweep to keep their season alive. With their backs against the wall, Abbotsford responded, taking an early 4-1 lead. Auburndale came back to tie it at 4-4, but the Falcons would win a big point to retake the lead. A diving play by libero Adriana Fuentes-Rivera kept the ball alive on the following rally, allowing the Falcons to later win the point. They didn’t look back, using their momentum to expand their lead as the set progressed. Senior middle hitter Haylee Soyk smashed home a huge kill late in the match, followed by an ace from Calley Ruesch and a tip that found the floor from Soyk to give the Falcons their largest lead of the match, 22-13. Auburndale answered with their own run, bringing the score to 22-19. A big block from Soyk and Sommer Brodhagen curbed the bleeding and Briseida Escalera finished the job. She scored the Falcons final two points, slamming a ball off of Auburndale’s block to win the set 25-21.

With one win under their belts, it looked like the Falcons had regrouped. Despite the difficult situation they had found themselves in, Abbotsford had made it clear that they had no intention of letting their season end here.

“Our team has an amazing ability to continue to believe in themselves no matter the situation,” head coach John Kreeger said. “In our Marawood Crossover match against Assumption, we found ourselves in a similar situation and were able to complete the comeback. This team knows it’s capable of amazing things, and that they just need to put it together.”

After seeming out of sorts in the first two sets, Abbotsford’s offense had found a good flow over the course of the third set, connecting on quick and cross-court sets to try to best utilize their team’s speed.

The Falcons started off set number four with momentum. Brodhagen came up with a big one-on-one block of Ertl to give the Falcons a 6-2 lead early and Abbotsford would maintain this cushion through the beginning and middle parts of the set. Auburndale made a run as the game moved into its final phase, tying the game at 19-19 off of a serve that bounced off the net and wobbled to the floor on Abbotsford’s side of the net. Falteisek put a stop to the run with another big block of Ertl to briefly retake the lead.

After a back and forth in which Auburndale would gain a small advantage, Ruesch regained the lead with a kill at 22-21. Brodhagen and Ruesch scored on two straight rallies. Their kills brought the score to 24-22, giving the Falcons two opportunities to put away the game and force a fifth set. They could not convert those opportunities into points, however, as a sideout from the Eagles and an ace from Ertl tied the game at 24-24. Two hitting errors from the Falcons over the next few rallies gave Auburndale the lead 26-25. The Eagles delivered a serve that was too much for the Abbotsford receivers to handle and the home team came out victorious, 27-25.

With the loss, the Falcons’ 2022 season came to a close. While it was perhaps earlier than they would have liked, there was still a lot that the team had accomplished over the year. With a new head coach, there were adjustments that needed to be made by the players to accommodate for a new offensive scheme and Kreeger was proud of how his squad handled such a change.

“The large-scale changes that we made to our offense put a lot of stress on players to perform new tasks in a high speed environment,” Kreeger said. “Mistakes were exemplified as adjustments are not as easy as a high ball offense. The team didn’t back down from the challenge and they pushed themselves to be a little better everyday. The start of the season to the end was an amazing transformation. These young ladies truly came together as a team.”

“I would like to give a lot of credit to this senior class,” he continued. “Everything I asked of this team was always going to be hardest on them. Most seniors wait for their moment to be the team captain, the person that everyone looks to, the upperclassman. I asked them to change everything about the way our team operated and they were not only willing, they were the ones that bought in first. The largest hurdle for most athletes to get over is understanding and accepting their role. These seniors did everything they could to leave a lasting legacy behind and I couldn’t be more proud of what they accomplished this year. If we can put together some long term success, this is the class that would have been the start of it.”

The search for that long term success will continue into the offseason. The Falcons will be returning a large number of players from this year’s squad, so maintaining and building upon what the team accomplished this season will be key for next year.

“We will have a very large senior class next year and the battle for open spots will be tough as we will not be graduating very many this year,” Kreeger said. “Our hope is that the returning players stay connected throughout the year, and we can build on the team concepts that we started to implement this season.”

The Falcons finished the season with a 2-3 record in the Marawood-North, but a 22-16 overall record.