The Wildcats swept the Firestone Falcons Tuesday night; 25-16, 25-11, 25-10. The Cats were on an extended break as their last match came on April 24 at the Elite 8 Tournament in Centerville. With matches being moved and canceled against St. Edward and Archbishop Hoban, it opened the door for a return of a critical piece for the Wildcats, Andrew Boeckman. The Blue and Gold played with high intense energy on their way to a 3-0 win over the Falcons.

“It was weird, I’ve been out for nine weeks now and this is my first game,” says Boeckman. “This team is tight in terms of chemistry, we’re always there for each other and it felt good to be back on the floor with them.”

The game for the Wildcats began slowly, as they would trail in the first set early 5-4 against Firestone. After earning the serve back, senior captain James Thoma led the Wildcats to a bundle of points while serving. Thoma was responsible for five aces during his eight-serve run to give the Wildcats a 13-5 advantage in the opening set. Boeckman would take over the hot hand in serving in set one as he would account for three aces. After an error by Firestone, the Cats took set one 25-16.

In set two, the Wildcats went on a 14-2 run on the Falcons as Thoma continued to rack up the aces. Aces were the name of the game for the Cats as in set two, the Blue and Gold totaled ten aces to take complete control of the Falcons. The Wildcats also totaled nine kills on their way to a dominant 25-11 set two victory.

The momentum from the Cats was tangible as they would bring the same amount of energy into set three. Not resting on a 2-0 match lead, the Wildcats kept their foot on the gas pedal. Firestone kept the score close in set three as they would trail by just one with a score of 6-5. A 13-4 run in set three by the Wildcats put them in the driver seat for the sweep. Leading 24-10, junior William Kander scored the match point with a spike on Firestone.

“I’m still not 100% healed quite yet and I was a little worried at first,” Boeckman explains. “I played to the best of my ability and I’m hoping for more of a recovery as the season goes on.”

The Wildcats would finish with 23 aces and 27 kills on their way to a 3-0 sweep of Firestone. The Cats improve .500 at 7-7 on the season as they’ll hit the road to take on the Hudson Explorers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. This weekend the Wildcats will compete in the Jesuit Cup at Walsh Jesuit High School as they’ll take on the Warriors and St. Xavier.