No. 14 Bryn Mawr School was no match for No. 3 Mount de Sales Academy, Monday, as it took the Sailors just three sets to put away the Mawrtians in IAAM A Conference volleyball contest, 25-16, 25-7 and 25-14.
“They played really well,” Sailors’ head coach Monica Owensby said. “They have been executing a lot more since our Bulldog Championship game Saturday night, and they knew coming in today they were going to have to keep that momentum going into today and the season.”
That intensity was felt right away by Bryn Mawr (5-2 overall, 1-2 IAAM A), dropping to a 6-1 deficit in game one and trailing the Sailors (6-1, 3-0 IAAM A) by as much as nine by the end of the first game.
Rolling into the second game, terrific spikes from Sailor Taylor Beaumount helped Mount de Sales jump out to a seven-point lead, 9-2, and pressure led to the nearly 10-point win.
“I think we did awesome,” Beaumount said. “There is always so much energy on the court and we are always going for everything. They put it down and they could put it into spots.”
But in the final game, the Mawrtians were neck-and-neck with the Sailors, playing them to a 5-5 start with clutch shots by Susannah Matthai and Anna Feiss, only to see the Mount de Sales intensity run the score to 19-6 and the eventual match ending, 25-14.
“They play so well that you have got to play at you very best all the time, or you will find that they are going to run up seven, eight or even nine points in a row,” Bryn Mawr head coach Tim Dunbar said. “And that is exactly what happened.
“There were times where we would play well with them for three or four points, and then all of a sudden they would go on a big burst.”
Mount de Sales has won six straight since opening the season with a four-game loss at No. 1 River Hill Sept. 7. The two-time defending IAAM A Conference champ Sailors has yet to drop a match in league play.
“We really think about the kind of spot that we are holding up,” Beaumount said. “We want to show everyone that we deserve our rank in the state, and show everyone that our intensity really does help us stay up there.”
Bryn Mawr hopes to rebound Wednesday, when they take on No. 20 Notre Dame Prep in league play while Mount de Sales hosts Chapelgate Christian Academy.
“I think we learned a few things about ourselves in terms of who can do what,” Dunbar said. “I think the girls know what they can do and they know that Mount de Sales is a formidable opponent, and every team is not going to be them. We just have to get a little more experience on the court and I think we will be alright.”
“We’re still not perfect, and there are still lots of things we need to work on,” Owensby said. “We have so much talent on this team that we have to learn to put it all together and do it every single time we go out on the court.”
