Archie Williams takes title in five-set thriller

Exactly one month after the Archie Williams High and Tam boys volleyball teams went to five sets in San Anselmo, a feeling of déjà vu filled the gym.

Again, the Peregrine Falcons won the first two sets, then the Hawks won the second two sets, and the Falcons won the deciding fifth set to pull out a 25-13, 25-21, 19-25, 21-25, 15-12 victory. This time around, the Peregrine Falcons clinched an undefeated season in league and won the MCAL championship.

“Winning has exceeded my expectations,” co-head coach Kelly Camp said.

“Greg and I are both firsttime coaches of this team. I couldn't be happier with an undefeated season. Beating Tam is a great way to cap it off.”

Archie Williams (21-6) commanded the first set and did a better job of setting up its attackers. Will Gustafson and Zach Wulff combined for three consecutive kills to close out the set.

The second set was more competitive, with the score reaching 21-20, at which point Archie Williams won four of the last five points thanks to three consecutive errors by Tam (23-5).

Archie Williams seemed poised to end the match quickly with the support of its rowdy crowd, but Tam made adjustments. The Red-tailed Hawks hit more of their shots, both firm attacks and gentle tips, to areas that the Falcons were not guarding.

Throughout the season, Tam head coach Jason Souza ran a “mindset drill” during practice to help prepare his team for unfavorable moments like these.

“We did a drill called `1721' where we set the scoreboard accordingly and the losing team has to figure out how to chip away and get two points every time the other team gets one point,” he said. “So much of sport is to think about the good things. The best athletes I've ever played with … they think of the good stuff and don't focus on the errors.”

The Red-tailed Hawks' training helped them mount their comeback. They opened the third set with a 7-2 burst thanks to the help of attacker Will Hatch and consecutive aces from Yaseen Ashraf. Tam maintained the lead and climbed back into the match when a hitting error by Archie Williams gave the Red-tailed Hawks the third-set win.

The fourth set was even until the middle when Tam went on a 7-2 run to make the score 18-12. As the Peregrine Falcons' lead evaporated, Camp could sense a shift in her team's dynamic.

“I wrote on my whiteboard: `Tension,'” she said. “I could feel and see in their body movements that they were tense, so I tried to have them take deeper breaths.”

The Red-tailed Hawks ended up winning the set, but toward its end, a subtle shift occurred for the Falcons. With the score 24-18, the Falcons won the next three points.

“We took that energy and brought it into the fifth set,” Lucich said.

Archie Williams led the finale 11-6 but Tam won the next four points to pull within one. With the score 12-10, Hatch threw down a spike, sending Tam fans into a frenzy. But, their energy was killed when the referee called a net violation. Trailing 13-10, the Hawks battled to the finish line but came up slightly short.

“I couldn't be more proud of this team,” Souza said. “All fans want to see a battle. Archie is a fantastic team; it was their time. Tam volleyball is on the rise.”

Hatch led the Hawks with 16 kills followed by Alex Garcia with nine. For the Peregrine Falcons, Lucich led in kills with 13.

With the win, the Falcons receive an automatic berth to the North Coast Section Division III tournament and will host a first-round game next week.

“Our goal was to go undefeated and win the MCAL,” Lucich said. “I was sweating, but we came together.”