GUILDERLAND — When a volleyball match reaches a fifth and deciding set, players must dig deep for whatever energy remains. The points come quickly; one after the next, and momentum can shift if a team isn’t communicating properly.

Tied, 7 to 7, with Bethlehem in the fifth set last Thursday, Guilderland went on to score just four more points. The Eagles had a momentous run and notched the victory, 25 to 11.

If a team loses the fifth set, it loses the match.

“You have more motivation [in the fifth set] but you also just played four sets in a row,” said Guilderland senior Jessica VanDoren after the loss to Bethlehem. “Honestly, it’s hard to keep pushing for five games because you’re tired. If you get down in the fifth, you realize the end.”

The Dutch (6-6) had two previous Suburban Council matches go to five sets. Against Niskayuna, Guilderland came back from two sets down, but lost by two points in the fifth. In the other, Guilderland beat Saratoga.

“When you’ve got your skills down, it’s mostly mental,” Dutch Head Coach Jessica Santabarbara said last Thursday. “The first couple of points can set the tone. You can get more mentally tired than physically.”

Santabarbara said that she reminds her players to stay calm, stay relaxed, and to communicate what’s going on. “They’ve learned how to relax and play that one point out and move on from their mistakes,” she said. “My girls have improved tremendously.”

The first time Guilderland played Bethlehem this season, it lost in three sets. The Eagles had strong serving last Thursday, and a few players who could hit the ball very well.

VanDoren told The Enterprise that constant communication is the key factor in volleyball. “It’s hard to keep the communication going when the other team has the momentum,” she said. “You feel it go, and you can get it back, but you have to want it enough. In times that we’re down, you can tell, but when we’re up, we’re talking non-stop.”

Guilderland won the second set, 25 to 14, after building a 10-to-0 lead.

“We might get cocky and drop, then come back up because we realize that we have to pick it up, and, sometimes, in that fifth game, you don’t have enough time to do that,” said VanDoren. “Once you get down, it might be too late. You can’t play down after you just played up; the other team is coming back harder because they’re mad.”

In volleyball, there isn’t much time to react. It can be difficult for a team to play its very best for every point. Sometimes, mistakes happen from aggression.

Santabarbara says that aggressive mistakes can be good, and Guilderland was guilty of some in the fifth set against Bethlehem. “It can be a hit out of bounds that was close or a block, and those good mistakes can mess with the mindset if they keep happening,” she said. “You’re not doing anything wrong; it’s just the luck. Good mistakes can sometimes get you down.”

It’s hard for Guilderland to come together in a positive light when mistakes are happening, VanDoren said. “We have to feed off each other, our energy, and coach’s energy,” she said. “We should come together after every point, no matter the result, to keep the momentum going.”

Volleyball players make reads on both sides of the ball. On defense, it’s reading where the ball is being aimed. On offense, it’s putting the ball where your teammates like it best.

“It’s like telling a story, and then you have to talk about it and communicate,” Santabarbara said. “That’s the challenge, the quick communication.”

Santabarbara wouldn’t say that Bethlehem was hard for Guilderland to read. She did say that the Eagles had more energy in the fifth set.      

“Energy in volleyball can spark the enthusiasm and can change the momentum; it’s a momentum game,” said Santabarbara. “If they have the energy, they can steal the momentum.”