The Bethlehem boys volleyball team learned that fortunes can change in a heartbeat.
One day after beating Shenendehowa in a Suburban Council match, the Eagles fell to the Plainsmen in the quarterfinals of the league’s mid-season tournament Saturday at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School.
Shen defeated Bethlehem 25-20 and 25-19 in the best-of-three quarterfinal match. In both games, the Plainsmen built sizeable leads that the Eagles couldn’t come back from.
To beat any team three times is difficult, said Bethlehem coach Rick Arket. `We just didn’t bring our A game today.`
The Eagles got off to a slow start in pool play when they dropped two games to Colonie by identical 26-24 scores. They bounced back to defeat Mohonasen 25-20 and 25-15 before struggling past Columbia 28-26 and 26-24 to advance to the playoff round.
`I think we lost focus a little bit [against Colonie],` said Arket. `They’re a good team, too, but we were just inconsistent.`
The good news for Bethlehem is that it still sits in second place in the Suburban Council standings, one game behind undefeated Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Equally impressive is the fact that the Eagles are in that position despite having a young starting lineup.
`We start five juniors, so we have a lot of potential,` said Arket.
Bethlehem has a tough assignment to start the second half of the league season. The Eagles travel back to Burnt Hills Wednesday to face the Spartans, who swept the field to win the Suburban Council Mid-season Tournament.“