By Mike Rubin

For the Somerville High School volleyball team, the road to victory continues to be a long and winding one. Despite a solid effort, the Highlanders suffered a tough 3-0 defeat to the Matignon Warriors in last week’s non-league match-up. With the loss, the Highlanders fell to 1-8 overall.

In the sweep, the Highlanders suffered close defeats: a 25-22 defeat followed by losses of 25-21 and 27-25.

“We played well in the beginning,” said coach Lauren Poussard. “We played well and attacked on offense, and the hits and blocks were there. Our coverage in the back row is really something we need to work on.”

In the first game, the Highlanders and Warriors continued to trade points before costly unforced errors proved to be the fatal flaw in the 25-22 defeat.

Despite a strong offense in the front, the defensive unit couldn’t overcome unforced errors, leading to costly Warrior points en route to the defeat.

“We’re going to work on some things,” said Poussard. “We’re going to make some adjustments over the next week so and hopefully we’ll be able to correct these types of mistakes in game situations.”

In the second game, both teams continued to trade points on side outs, as unforced errors continued to control the tempo of the game. Facing a 16-12 deficit, the Highlanders stormed back with six unanswered points to grab an 18-16 lead before the Warriors engineered a 4-0 run to record a 20-18 edge before securing the win with a 5-3 run.

In the third game, the Highlanders once again executed an early lead, and maintained its edge at 20-18 before both teams battled to a 25-25 tie. After capitalizing on an ace and an unforced error in the back, the Warriors were able to squeeze out the 27-25 win.

Leading the way for the Highlanders was Nicole Genard, who collected six kills while Lorenza Etienne added two in the loss. Also contributing was Nahza Ferradi, who chipped in with six digs while Brittany Cassidy posted the blocks followed by Jacqui Homsi, who added two blocks and a kill.

The Highlanders will return to action on Wednesday when they’ll battle Greater Boston League rivals Medford.