Westford Academy Boys’ Volleyball team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Framingham Flyers this afternoon at Wellesley High School. Competing for a trip to the state championship, WA fought their hearts out to the final point but could not overcome the young Framingham team.

The first game was characterized by a handful of errors by both sides, with a combination of net errors and balls hit out of bounds.

WA and the Flyers traded points to begin, but WA immediately asserted that they were ready to play the 20-1 Flyers to the best of their ability. Framingham committed three errors in a row, but was able to come back to allow WA to lead 5-3.

It was evident quickly that the game would come down to blocking and net shots, and junior Mike Baltayan made a statement early that he would be that guy for WA. However, the errors were piling up on both sides, and WA pulled ahead to an 8-3 lead.

Framingham soon realized they had given the experienced WA squad a leg up early on, and began to turn on the jets for the rest of the game. Their fans also began to realize this and decided to get into the game with a myriad of unique cheers.

A few remarkable plays had been made, as the score continued to increase to a Flyer lead 18-17, but once again Baltayan made another magnificent play to tap the ball into an unguarded Framingham position.

Other standout players in game one were Lars Cianciolo and Izzy Ralsten, who made amazing efforts to save the ball on powerful shots by Framingham.

Also, senior Brandon Tierney was able to answer with a power shot of his own with the game just two points from being over. However,  despite solid blocking efforts by junior Florian Haedicke, Framingham star player Kelvin Rivera was able to score the winning shot for game one.

Game two was one of remarkable play and powerful shots, mostly from the Framingham side. It was also clear that Framingham was the better team, especially on blocking and net play.

Frustrations for WA began to boil over after another Flyer point. Senior Jon Kruger kicked the ball high in the air following this point and was given a yellow card by the center official. At this point, WA was down 7-2 after tremendous net work by Framingham. Unforced errors continued to be a key factor in the domination WA faced in the second game.

Impressive blocking by Framingham came mainly from sophomore Aaron Shapiro, however most of the Flyers’ starting lineup was pounding the WA defense.

While showing some fight in long rallies, WA was evidently unable to capitalize and eventually was routed in game two by a score of 25-15.

The final game was the closest of the evening as it pertains to competition. While still appearing as the weaker team, WA was able to hold on for most of the final game.

Errors were still a major issue for both sides, but did not rule game three like it had in past games. Senior Pat Coffey displayed his blocking skills in the beginning of the third game, but errors still found WA down 13-12 during a timeout.

During the timeout, Needham High School’s team walked into the gym, who would be playing in the next game. As they walked in, Framingham fans began to chant “We want Needham!”, proclaiming that they had already won the game and wanted to play in the state finals.

Coffey continued his nice play despite more errors on both sides, including major miscommunication between Baltayan and Kruger. Eventually, Ralsten also was able to pick up the much needed points for WA, who was now up 19-17.

However, Framingham was able to slowly crawl their way back into the lead, due to net work and WA errors due to power shots. At match point, WA was able to bring the game to 24-22, but an overshot by Ralsten ended the game for WA.

Head coach Russell Coward recognized that his team did not play up to par, but this was not a result of bad effort or passion during the game.

“When we don’t get good passes then the setters don’t set them well […] There was no giveup tonight, even when we had that rough run, it wasn’t for lack of effort or not trying, it was just lack of execution,” Coward said.

Lastly, Coward recognizes this as one of the most memorable seasons in his volleyball coaching career at WA.

“I think this has been a very special season that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Coward said.