April 7th, 9:00 am
The dispute for 5th place in the boys volleyball category of ISSL took place on April 7th. The game against EAR (American School of Recife) was certainly an emotional one, given that it would be the last of the season and the senior athlete’s last game as Hawks. Starting on the wrong foot, the boys lost the first four consecutive points---but soon their energy rose and they started to recover from the slow beginning. The score went from 1-4 to 2-5, then 3-5, and finally, with a block from Aidan Van Cleef (04), 4-5. Following that success, with an impressive save from Matheus Cali (09) followed by blocks by Aidan and Ted Mason (08), EABH tied with EAR with the score at 6-6.
A spike from Ted put EABH on the lead. However, after the score reached 7-6, neither school stayed on the lead for long, as both took turns scoring. The game went from 8-8 to 9-10 and 10-11. Several great serves from Tiago Loures (05) finally gave EABH the advantage as the score reached 13-11. Soon, however, the schools tied again at 17 - 17.
At this point, the EABH girls in the audience started cheering loudly, which proved to be an important factor in the boys’ performance. A great block from Ted followed by a beautiful serve from Aidan put the score at 20-19: setpoint. The boys showed organization and patience, winning the next point and, consequently, the first set.
The second set started already with a balanced score, following the trend of this game, first at 1-1 and then at 2-2. In addition, Ted Mason was substituted by Bernardo Dias (30), who soon proved to be a valuable addition, as his spike put EABH back in the lead with a score of 3-2. The Hawks continued in the lead for the next couple of points, reaching 6-4. However, EAR scored a surprising four points in a row, turning the score around at 6-8. EABH scored two more points and EAR scored five. A beautiful spike from Pedro Jorge (07) gave EABH the next point.
The Hawks slowly recovered from the power imbalance. After a good serve from Mathieu Lessage (15), a block from Dudu Calixto (06), and a tipping by Ted Mason, the score reached 11-13. Both teams scored another point, leading to EAR continuing in the lead. That is until a spike from João Lima (10), followed by a good serve from the same player, and finally a tipping from Dudu Calixto, put the score at 14-14. With another two good serves from João, EABH took the lead. A spike from Dudu followed, putting the score at a favorable 17-14.
EAR scores the next two points, but with a serve from Dudu Calixto and a beautiful spike from Ted Mason, the score reached 20-16. Only one point away from winning the game and with nerves rising as a result, the Hawks missed the next serve. It was EAR’s serve, but João Lima received the ball beautifully and passed it to Aidan, who passed it to Ted, who scored, ending the second set---and the game---at 21-17. With a match point constructed by seniors, the Hawks celebrated a well-deserved victory, in a game in which they soared to dominate their rival and finished the volleyball season on a great note.