Seniors Hayden Castle and Austin Swanson had huge games for Oswego (11-6) during its match up against Oswego East (9-12) on April 23 in 25-19, 27-25 victories.
“The guys just have the mindset of ‘it’s a rivalry,’” Head Coach Francisco Martinez said.
The Panthers started the first match a little slow, but after Senior Ben Williams’ spike and Castle’s tip over the net, Oswego was able to extend its lead from 9-8 to 16-8.
The Wolves then went on an 11-6 run to bring the score within a point, but Oswego answered with five straight points to secure the victory and win game one 25-19.
“We had to keep calm and stay composed,” Castle said regarding the slow start.
In game two, Oswego East began strong and got themselves a serious five point lead. Oswego would come back and the game would remain tight the rest of the way.
‘The environment and all my teammates being hyped up kept me upbeat” Castle said.
The Panthers led 10-8 when a Castle ace and a beautiful Williams dig propelled Oswego to an 8-2 run that put them up 18-10.
The Wolves would fight back, and make it one exciting finish.
With the game tied at 24, Swanson came up big and was able to ace his serve to put the Panthers up 25-24. After three more rallies, Oswego was able to secure the 27-25 game win – later also scoring the match victory after junior Anthony Maltese’s game-ending kill.
“The guys had confidence, and were able to execute down the stretch,” Head Coach Francisco Martinez said.
Oswego will play again on Tuesday, May 7 against Romeoville.
