The young Londonderry High School boys’ volleyball squad has had its ups and downs for veteran coach John Vaughn this spring. And the Lancers scuffled somewhat recently, falling into a three-game losing streak that dropped the locals’ record below the .500 mark to 4-5.
The 4-3 Londonderry crew had its record leveled right at the .500 mark with a 3-0 shutout loss to the Souhegan High Sabers in Amherst Wednesday, May 4.
The host Sabers (4-2) tallied game victories of 25-13, 25-16, and 28-26 to send the Lancers out to their bus to contemplate defeat on the ride home.
The locals received 13 assists from Mike Vivian, 12 digs from Ryan Crowley, nine kills from Nick Anderson, and eight digs and five kills from Riley Treanor.
Two days later in Derry, the Lancers battled hard and got to within a win of besting the Pinkerton Academy Astros.
But in the end the host academy side notched a 3-2 match victory to advance its record to 7-2.
Pinkerton bagged a 25-18 win in game one but saw its guest snag victories of 22-25 and 13-25 to collect a 2-1 match lead.
However, the Astros won the match by succeeding in games four (25-16) and five (15-10).
The Lancer squad went into this week hoping to climb back to the .500 mark with success in a Monday, May 9 home match against the John Stark Regional team.
The locals succeeded in that effort, advancing to 5-5 and stopping their skid with a 3-1 besting of the visiting spikers.
Nick Anderson played a vital role in the victory, tallying 16 kills and pacing the Lancer effort.
“Nick was the key to the win,” said Vaughn. “He ended up with 16 kills on the day and had at least 35 attempts. He is mixing up his attack options and still hits one of the heaviest balls in the league.”
Vivian contributed 22 assists, Crowley was good for 16 digs, and Riley Treanor snagged 12 kills and eight digs.
“Riley Treanor continues to be one of our most valuable all-around players, averaging over 12 kills and 8 digs a match,” added Vaughn. “Ryan Crowley is as solid as any libero in the league and continues to ignite our offense.”