On Tuesday, March 13, the boys volleyball team faced off against conference leader Lake Mary, ranked second in Florida. The team lost 3-0 but they showed improvement throughout the match.

Outside hitter Sean Daly came out with an ace to tie the game at 2-2. That was when Lake Mary started to pull away, going on an 8-2 run before the team took their first timeout. Out of the timeout, Hagerty scored two straight points but Lake Mary kept the pressure on and won the first match 25-16.

“It was a good learning experience for us through the first match,” outside hitter Victor Jerez said. “It was a good opportunity to face off against one of the best teams in the state.”

Jerez would lead the team with five kills, most of which came in the second match. The second match began with Lake Mary going on a 15-2 run; the two points coming off of Lake Mary errors. It looked like that would be the end of the match but after Hagerty called a timeout, they went on a 4-0 run. The run did not last long though as Lake Mary would win the second match 25-11.

“We have good mental strength. They are obviously a very good team but we’ve put a huge emphasis on thinking when we are playing so I think that helped us a lot,” head coach Sarah Jarem said.

During the third match, the team seemed to shrug off the rough second match and play more competitively. Lake Mary made constant errors, from out-of-bounds spikes to over-serving the ball and all those mistakes built the team’s confidence. Jerez and middle Mark Nelson led the team with kills and a two straight blocks that seemed to stun Lake Mary. However, Lake Mary ended up pulling away as the third set came to a close, winning 25-18.

“We battled back and brought all our energy,” middle Nicholas Hurley said. “They got tired and we just kept going.”

The team is now 2-2, and the next game is Thursday, March 15 at home against Oviedo.