Rays Drop 5-Set Thriller

It wasn’t playoff volleyball when Marco Island Academy traveled to play St. John Neumann on September 24, but it sure felt like it. Emotions always run high when the Rays and Celtics square off, and Thursday night was no exception. The local rivals battled for five sets with the Celtics coming out on top, 3-2. But the drama continued all the way till the end of the deciding fifth set, won by the Celtics, 15-13.

Neumann, who hadn’t beaten the Rays for four years, jumped in front by winning the first set, 25-21. The Rays won the next two, 25-18, 25-18, and looked to be in control of the match, up 13-8 in the fourth set. But the Celtics stepped up, winning seven out of the next eight points to take a 15-14 lead, ultimately tying the match, 2-2, with a 25-20 win.

“I believe we started serving a little bit more aggressively,” said Jan Class, Neumann coach. “We were playing kind of scared. Like we didn't want to make mistakes. We were kind of playing in the comfort zone. I told them to be more aggressive, don't be afraid. I believe they were holding themselves back because they didn't want to make errors. They were just hitting neutral hits without scoring.”

Class doesn’t discount the effect the crowd may have had on both teams. Early on, the crowd was quiet, then a church group came into the gym and really livened things up.

“I think the crowd helped,” Class said. “At the beginning of the game it was kind of flat without them here. That's the youth group; they were here at church. I believe they finished church and they just came. I'm really excited and thankful that they came.”

The fifth set is a short, deciding tiebreaker played to 15 points instead of the usual 25.

MIA started strong in the fifth set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. The Celtics battled back but the Rays still led, 6-4. The Celtics then reeled off nine straight points to take a 13-6 lead. Following a timeout, the inspired Rays fought back to 13-10. The Celtics scored once, then the Rays took three straight points to cut the Celtics' lead to 14-13. The Celtics won the final rally to win the match.

"They came back,” Class acknowledged. "We struggled a little bit on serve receive and they took that opportunity from us."

Class, who won three state championships at Seacrest in 2013, 2021 and 2022, had nothing but good things to say about the Rays and coach Alyssa Stolinas.

"Marco Island has an outstanding team and an amazing coach with Alyssa,” Class said. “That's what I told the girls. I said it's a good challenge for us to see where we are right now. I believe we were more than lucky that they struggled on serve receive in the last set. We took that opportunity, so I'm completely happy and everything, but we truly respect the other team because they are really, really good.”

MIA(8-4) will be back in action on Thursday, October 1, when they host Seacrest (12-4) at 6:30. Neumann (6-12) travels to Estero (11-6) on October 1.