The boys volleyball team advanced through round one of Districts on Saturday, going 3-1 in a five-team pool that included DeSmet, Francis Howell, Northwest and Ritenour.
Highlighting the day was a nail-biting loss to DeSmet that featured the group’s two best teams. Their first match of the season resulted in a 2-0 DeSmet victory on May 4.
The Spartans would take the first game 25-18 after rallying from an early 6-1 deficit. In the second game, the Lancers raced out to a 22-14 lead behind an impressive backline that matched DeSmet spike-for-spike. Senior Kurt Taphorn and junior Rob Berry also contributed with several blocks from the front row.
Occasional missed serves early in the game would come back to haunt the team, as the Spartans would close the lead to 23-21 before Lafayette finally tied the match at one game apiece.
The deciding game was a 15-point tiebreaker that back-and-forth the whole way. A crowd-pleasing spike by Berry gave Lafayette a 6-5 lead and a miraculous return by senior Ryan Lewis seemed to give Lafayette the momentum at 12-10. But two misfired spikes tied the game and DeSmet would go on to win 16-14.
The Lancers rebounded with a win over Northwest and finished the day at 3-1, which allowed the team to advance along with DeSmet. Next up for Lafayette is a match with SLUH at Kirkwood on May 18.
