By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
TAUNTON, Mass. – When Taunton traveled to Milford in the second game of the season, relatively inexperienced Tigers squad fought in each of the three sets but came away with a loss. The teams met again on Tuesday night at the Rabouin Field House with the inaugural Hockomock League title on the line and this time the Tigers looked ready for the spotlight.
In another back-and-forth match, Taunton answered every Milford run and closed the third set on a 6-1 run to pull out a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 26-24) victory and put the league’s two more experienced programs in position to share the title in the first boys volleyball season in the Hock.
“We learned that we have to bring it,” Taunton coach Toby Chaperon replied when asked about what his team learned from the first meeting with the Hawks. “We know that Milford is one of the best teams in the whole state year-in, year-out and I think when we went up there we just weren’t ready. I just felt like we played with a lot of energy today and I think that was a big factor for us.
Asked about potentially sharing the first Hock title with Milford, Chaperon noted that when he first started coaching at Taunton he reached out to Milford’s legendary coach Linda Zacchilli to set up scrimmages against the established program. Now the teams are sharing not only the court, but the league championship.
Chaperon said, “I think it’s special and it’s almost fitting that it’s shared because I have a lot of respect for Milford. For us to be able to be mentioned with them I think is a cool thing and we’ll take it for the first year. We’re just hoping that more Hock teams can get out here.”
Taunton came out with more energy and jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead after a block by senior right side Travis Johnson. Milford quickly turned things around, putting together an 11-1 run to lead 12-6. Junior Gustavo Da Silva had two kills, an ace, and a big dig that helped Milford get the point after a long rally.
Milford had the momentum and, after a net violation, a 15-10 lead. The perennial state power looked like it was in solid position to take the opening set, but Taunton responded with a 12-2 run to wrest control away from the Hawks.
Johnson continued to be thorn in Milford’s side, smashing in a pair of kills, and sophomore Syre Duverna had a block for a point. Da Silva smacked one off the block to put Milford up by two but junior Donny Providence had back-to-back kills to tie the set at 17 apiece and senior libero Dantae Bauer dropped in an ace to put the Tigers in front.
With the Tigers leading 22-17, it was time for things to swing back to Milford. Da Silva started it with a kill, an ace from junior Eston Lebron cut the deficit to just one, and the ball found sophomore Samuel Abreu on the outside for a big swing that tied things at 22-22. After an error put Taunton in front, Da Silva had another kill to level the score.
Taunton turned to Johnson again and he delivered with a rip down the middle. Milford evened things again on a service error but then Ikechukwu Asiegbunam found the court with an accurate tip and an error gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the match.
“The coaching staff is really trying to get these guys to understand that you can’t overreact to every single point,” Chaperon said about his team’s ability to bounce back from Milford runs. “They’re a good team. They’re going to go on a five-, six-point run and we’re going to come right back. We have to be smart and we have to be composed.”
The hosts got off to a good start in the second set as well, leading 6-2 and 9-5. Milford scored four straight to tie things but Taunton went on another 4-1 run. Da Silva picked the back corner on an impressive swing, but Johnson answered with a blast down the line and an unstoppable hit straight down.
Abreu went down the line to get a point back for the Hawks, but Taunton kept feeding Johnson and he had back-to-back kills to extend the lead. Providence was able to find a hole with a tip to make it 18-12. As usual, no lead was really safe as Milford put together a 6-1 run. Junior Diego Inacio-Santo hit one off the block and senior middle Colin Greco scored on consecutive swings to help close the gap.
Providence helped right the ship for the Tigers by smacking one off the block and Asiegbunam was fired up after a clutch block. Asiegbunam made it 23-19 with another kill but Milford got two quick points on kills from Da Silva and Abreu. Taunton senior setter Daniel Freitas went to Duverna in the middle and he sealed the second set with a powerful swing.
“They are playing the ball higher above the net than we are right now and that was a real big struggle for us the first time we played them and we thought we prepared better for the second time,” said Milford coach Andrew Mainini. “They played really well and earned this win and we didn’t play so well and we helped them out.”
Milford came out with far more intensity in the third set, knowing that it needed to step up a level to stay alive in the match. Senior setter Jason Comiskey gave them a jolt when he ended a rally with a kill to make it 10-9. Junior Yago Sampaio came off the bench and added a service point to extend the lead to three.
Taunton responded to go in front 15-13. Johnson had a huge block and Freitas dropped in an ace that clipped the net on its way past. The Hawks rallied with a 7-2 run. Inacio-Santos had a pair of kills and Da Silva had an ace and then a huge swing from the back row that had the Milford bench fired up.
A pair of kills from Asiegbunam and a block from Duverna had Taunton right back in it, down just 21-20. Greco came up with another clutch play in the middle for the Hawks, hooking a shot just inside the sideline. Da Silva followed with a kill to make it 23-20.
Just when it seemed that the match was headed for a fourth set, Taunton turned things around. A net violation cut the lead to two and Johnson and Duverna combined for a block to bring the Tigers within one. A hitting error tied the set and then a controversial call on a tip that went wide (Milford thought it got a touch off a blocker) gave the Tigers a match point.
Milford survived the first one but Taunton went back in front 25-24. This time, the Tigers got the ball out to Johnson on the edge and the team’s leading hitter made no mistake, blasting Taunton to a big win and potentially to a share of the league title.
“There are going to be growing pains as we add new schools, they’re going to need time to grow but I think in the long run this is great for boys volleyball,” Mainini said about being an official Hockomock League sport.
He added with a smile, “I’m not someone who likes to share, so I’m not happy we have to share the league title but they’re a good group of guys, a good group of coaches, and it’s the two programs who’ve been here the longest so it’s pretty fitting.”
Taunton (8-1) hosts Barnstable on Tuesday night and can clinch the Hock title with a win over King Philip on Thursday. Milford (8-3) faces a tough trip to Lexington on Tuesday and a visit from Agawam before playing for the league title at Attleboro on Monday.