In every regular season game the 5th/6th grade volleyball team lost in 2013, they went to a third set. But in Saturday's playoff, the girls never even got the chance.
The 5th/6th graders were eliminated after a straight set 25-21, 25-21 loss at St. Stephen, putting an end to a season that featured many ups and downs.
Both sets were well within reach, but down the stretch it was the other team making good plays, and the St. Mary's girls making the mistakes.
They got off to a hot start and led 3-0, but a fault on the next point seemed to derail the girls.
Playing catchup for most of the first set, the girls kept it close and actually took a 21-20 lead.
But after the other team perfectly placed a ball the girls couldn't return to force a sideout, the 5th/6th grade lost four straight points on serve receive and dropped set one.
It was a familiar position for the girls, as they faced this situation before, needing to come back and win two straight sets. However this time, they couldn't manage to do it.
Up against the other team's best server, they were unable to return the ball close to ten times and dug themselves an 11-3 hole.
Justina managed to bring the girls back within 11-9, but the girls then lost another four straight points and trailed 15-9.
Samantha rolled off a few serves to cut the lead to 20-17, but then faulted on her next serve, turning the ball back over to the other team.
Following the same pattern, Annie got the girls to within 24-21, but served her last ball wide to end the match.
As a whole, the girls didn't play well and made too many mistakes. In the first set alone, they faulted on six serves, and failed to take advantage of the other team when they weren't ready to play.
They were unable to fight off their struggles and when they lost a point or two, it turned into three, four and even five in a row.
If they could've stopped the bleeding at just a few points, the girls could be talking about a championship game Sunday.
But they are left with pondering what might've been. With four 5th graders in a 6th grade division, they were clearly the underdogs and were pushed to the limit several times during the season.
The biggest fault for this team is the lack of confidence and not having faith in what they do. Some of the girls on the team are afraid of being in the spotlight and don't want the ball during a game.
Everybody knows they are more than capable of being a good, if not great team. The girls just need to realize that themselves as well.
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