For the second straight year the Longmeadow Lancer Volleyball team has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award.
The AVCA Team Academic Award honors volleyball teams at the high school and college level that are successful in the classroom. Nominees include high school or college teams that have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30 (on a 4.00 scale) or 4.10 (on a 5.00 scale) during the full academic year (both semesters or all quarters), and include all varsity athletes who competed in volleyball with the institution for any portion of the academic year.
"Each year I'm impressed all over again by the academic prowess of volleyball players," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer.
With the repeat honor, the Lancer volleyball team still stands as only the third Massachusetts high school to receive the Team Academic Award. Waltham High School received the award in 2006 and Bourne High School was a recipient in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Over 900 different schools have earned the award in the programs 16-year history, and over 2,800 awards have been given out, only three to Massachusetts high school teams. During the 2008 volleyball season the hard working lancers maintained an amazing 3.58 cumulative grade point average.
I can't say just how much I admire the work ethic of these girls, said Longmeadow Head Coach George Mulry. They work hard at everything they do and it's great they're getting recognized for it.
Here comes high school girls volleyball in Western Massachusetts. Looking for the best of the best, as The Republican staff writer Jason Remillard saw it at the end of the preseason?
Check out the Super Seven:
SONIA BROWN, Amherst Regional
A stalwart of the Hurricanes' attack; second-team All-Scholastic as a junior; will play a bigger role with the graduation of the Mears twins and Laura Caraker - all first-teamers in 2008.
ANNIE GORMAN, Minnechaug Regional
Junior middle blocker has benefited from playing on travel teams in the offseason and should coninue that improvement as the Falcons challenge for the championship in the ever-tough Eastern Division.
CAROLINE MARTIN, Longmeadow
Junior libero was a second-team All-Scholastic selection last season as the Lancers won their second straight Western Mass. Division II championship; plays a big part on defense and should be a sparkplug yet again in 2009.
ANNA McGANN, Longmeadow
Junior will take the starting outside hitter spot vacated when All-Scholastic first-teamer Andrea Davis graduated; coach George Mulry expects big things from her this season.
VANESSA RUIZ, West Springfield
Junior outside hitter and middle blocker is poised for a breakout season for the Terriers; played a major role in getting West Side to the Division II tournament; has improved immensely through Junior Olympics and Bay State Games programs.
CASSIDY STANKOWSKI, Frontier Regional
It's hard to believe that this hard-hitting outside hitter is in her third year for the Red Hawks and is only still a freshman; had 182 kills, 103 aces and 198 digs for Division III Western Massachusetts champions; will be the clear-cut first option now that older sister Alyssa has graduated.
ERIN SWEENEY, Chicopee Comp
Senior has developed into an excellent setter for the Colts; her success will have a lot to do with how Comp fares in its first season in the new Western Division; second-team Division II All-Scholastic as a junior.
Longmeadow defeated Mahar in straight sets 25-14, 25-16, 25-15 on Tuesday in Mahar. The win for Longmeadow gives them their third straight win to start the season and Mahar's third straight defeat to begin the season. Caroline Martin paced Longmeadow with 23 digs. Anna McGann tallied 11 kills while Hannah McGrath added seven kills for Longmeadow. Sabrina Silva led Mahar with five kills and four aces.
Longmeadow defeated East Longmeadow in straight sets on Friday winning 25-19, 25-23, 25-17 at East Longmeadow. Caroline Martin led Longmeadow with 25 digs while Anna McGann added 12 kills and Steph Lauria chipped in seven aces. Kristen Lombardo led East Longmeadow with six kills and two blocks and Katie Wrona added five aces.
Volleyballs version of the unsung hero is the setter, and Longmeadow High School is lucky to have one of the up-and-coming stars.
Junior Alison Donnelly is only five matches into her first year as the starter, but shes already developed a special chemistry with hitters Anna McGann, Hannah McGrath and Stephanie Lauria.
Donnelly and company were in sync Monday night as Longmeadow defeated host Minnechaug Regional 23-25, 25-10, 25-9, 25-21 in high school girls volleyball action. Donnelly delivered 31 assists as the Lancers improved to 5-0, 2-0 in the Eastern Division.
Ali and I are friends outside of school, too, said Lauria, who racked up a career-high 16 kills and 18 digs. It really helps on the court because we can connect and she knows exactly where the set is supposed to go.
Setter was one of the big preseason question marks for the two-time defending Western Massachusetts Division II champions, following the graduation of The Republicans All-Scholastic first-teamer Natalie Zucker. Donnelly emerged as the leader in a group of three setters on the Lancers roster.
Taking nothing away from backups Mackenzie Ditomassi and Katelyn Boutin, but Longmeadow seems to have a different comfort level with Donnelly in the match. Coach George Mulry started the fourth game rotating Boutin and Ditomassi, but Minnechaug went out to a 20-17 lead. Donnelly re-entered the lineup, and the Lancers responded with eight of the last nine points for the victory.
We had trouble passing, but it wasnt really a setter issue, Mulry said. It just makes the girls feel a lot more comfortable knowing who the personnel is on the court, and it was the X-factor for us tonight, I think.
Minnechaug (1-3, 0-1) took advantage of a few Longmeadow errors to win a nip-and-tuck first game. The Lancers responded with dominant showings in the next two, barely giving the Falcons room to breathe. In game two, Longmeadow ran off 12 straight points with McGann serving to turn an 8-5 game into a 20-5 affair. Donnellys quick push shot gave the Lancers game point, and she also served out the last few points of game three.
Minnechaug middle hitter Annie Gorman (six kills) had eight service points in game four to put her team in command, before Mulry put Donnelly back in the match.
McGann finished with 11 kills and eight aces, while libero Caroline Martin had 27 digs and four kills.
One of the most anticipated matches of the Western Massachusetts high school girl volleyball season takes place Wednesday.
The defending sectional champions Longmeadow in Division II and Frontier Regional in Division III meet at 7 p.m. in South Deerfield. As they say in boxing, Someones 0 must go in this clash of 7-0 teams.
The established Frontier program has won four straight Division III titles under coach Sean MacDonald and would likely be a top contender if it played in Division II, while Longmeadow has benefited from third-year coach George Mulry, who guided the Lancers to back-to-back titles in his first two years.
MacDonald and Mulry are close friends whose paths also cross routinely as officials and as coaches of offseason travel teams. Their players are also close, as many play together in the offseason. Both have done an excellent job this season building their teams up from significant losses to graduation.
Frontier is led by outside hitter Cassidy Stankowski and libero Kendra Ouimette, while Longmeadow is paced by the duo of Anna McGann and Hannah McGrath in the middle.
In a rare battle of undefeated defending Western Massachusetts champions, Frontier Regional impressively topped Longmeadow 3-0 Wednesday night in a highly anticipated independent girls volleyball match at South Deerfield.
Coach Sean MacDonalds squad, which played with great intensity, earned the sweep with scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-16.
We really minimized the number of errors we made, MacDonald said. I think we only missed four serves for the whole match. We didnt have a lot of hitting errors, and we played pretty good defense.
Frontier, the four-time reigning Division III champion, jumped to 8-0. Cassidy Stankowski led the hosts with 16 kills. Angelica Perfido made 14 digs, and Kendra Ouimette had 15 digs and four aces.
Longmeadow, which has won the Division II title the last two seasons, fell to 7-1. Coach George Mulry said his Lancers committed too many unforced errors.
We prepared well and neutralized Cassidy pretty well, but we couldnt get anything done on offense, Mulry said. And Frontier wouldnt let the ball hit the floor without a fight.
Caroline Martin finished with 24 digs for Longmeadow, and Anna McGann notched seven aces.
Longmeadow defeated South Hadley in straight sets on Friday in Longmeadow winning 25-15, 25-14, 25-9. Erica Oundjian and Olivia O'Hara each posted six kills for Longmeadow. Longmeadow tallied 28 aces as a team. Cavlien Cockley led South Hadley with 11 assists and nine digs. Melissa Wanat added seven digs for South Hadley.
The Longmeadow Lancers are now qualified to compete for their third straight Western Massachusetts Division II volleyball title. Cady Deary and Sara Underwood combined for 39 digs Wednesday as Longmeadow beat Westfield 25-22, 25-23, 25-20. Olivia O'Hara delivered seven kills for the 9-1 Lancers.
Midway through the fourth of what would be a five-game match between two of the best Western Massachusetts Division II volleyball teams, Sonia Brown took a spike square in her face.
Her nose bled and she had to retreat to the locker room for attention. Moments later, she was back on the court and although her Amherst team lost that game, 25-20, the Hurricanes rebounded to win the match following a 15-8 victory in the deciding game to eke out a 3-2 victory over two-time reigning sectional champion Longmeadow Friday.
It was the fastest bloody nose I ever had, said Brown, who had 10 kills, 17 digs and three blocks. This match was so intense and I just loved how we were able to keep going, even when we were down.
Amherst regrouped after losing the first game, 25-21.
The big things, coach Kacey Schmitt said, was we stayed together. We blocked very well.
So well, that the Hurricanes forced the Lancers into committing errors they normally dont make.
Thats what a good team will do to you, Longmeadow coach George Mulry said.
Amherst claimed the next two contests, 25-19, 25-16. Then came the brief hiccup in the fourth game before the Hurricanes made a statement with their fifth game victory.
This was a really important game for us and it was very exciting, said senior Jennie Rogers, who finished with eight kills and 10 digs. After we lost that first game, we knew we had to come together and play hard.
Rogers wasnt surprised Brown returned so quickly.
That shows the kind of dedication we have, she said. Even if you have bruises or scrapes, or are bleeding all over the place, if you can get back in there and play, thats what you do.
Khalea Glasgow and Brianna McBride each had seven blocks and three kills, while Ashley Fuller contributed 26 assists and two blocks. Hilary Woodworth added 17 digs and Jamie Hoyle had six blocks as Amherst improved to 10-2.
The victory avenged an earlier 3-1 loss to Longmeadow in Amherst.
Longmeadow, whose only other loss was to Division III power Frontier, is 9-2. It was a bittersweet moment for Cady Deary, who had 40 digs to set the all-time school record.
Alison Donnelly had 27 assists. Hannah McGrath and Anna McGann combined for 24 kills.
The road to the sectional title may still go through Longmeadow, but the Lancers know theyll have plenty of competition from the likes of Amherst and upstart West Springfield, which took Longmeadow to the limit in the first round of last falls tournament.
They were sisters in arms, rallying for a good cause while making sure they were worthy opponents on the court.
A long night of intense volleyball ended with two-time reigning Division II champion Longmeadow staving off a challenge from upstart West Springfield in five grueling high school girls volleyball games. Longmeadow won, 21-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-17, and 15-8 to knock West Springfield from the unbeaten ranks.
But more important on this day was what the 10-2 Lancers and 13-1 Terriers were playing for. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everywhere in the Bob DAgostino Gymnasium was a sea of pink.
The players werent Longmeadow or West Springfield Wednesday. The front of their jerseys, pink for Longmeadow and black with pink numbers for West Springfield, was the Spike For Life logo.
This was very important, said Anna McGann, who had 18 kills for the Lancers. Our team decided to make it for all cancer. Sometimes in life, theres things people dont actually see, and we want everyone to know theres someone here to help them out.
Family and friends took part in a fund-raising raffle, and the stands were filled with people in pink shirts. So did Longmeadow coach George Mulry, and even the net had pink trimming.
So did the game ball, which was given quite a workout by two teams with title aspirations. Every point was hotly contested, and both sides took turns building leads and watching the other team battle hard to close the gap.
They made us work for every single point, Mulry said. The momentum was swinging back and forth throughout every game. This was a fun match to coach.
Longmeadow was fresh off last Fridays 3-2 loss to Amherst Regional.
They learned a lot from that match, Mulry said. They dont like that feeling, and it hurt not coming away with a win in that one.
Alison Donnelly had 28 assists for Longmeadow, while Kaitlin Corbett finished with six aces and 20 service points.
West Sides such a good team, and because I have a lot of friends on that team, it was personal, McGann said. We were sweating and going crazy out there. We had to work to pull through.
Kelley Bryant led West Side with 14 kills. Vanessa Ruiz added 11 kills and Alyssa Danilow finished with nine.
Im proud of my team for playing hard, West Side coach Rene Ruiz said. We knew this was going to be a tough match, and it was.
Last season, West Side took Longmeadow to the limit in the first round of the tournament.
Accomplishments: Outstanding athlete has helped the two-time reigning champion Lancers to a 10-2 start; came up from junior varsity last season to take part in sectional championship team; had 27 assists in recent loss to Amherst; had 28 assists in exciting 3-2 victory over previously unbeaten West Springfield last Wednesday.
INTEREST, FAVORITES
Food: Tortellini
Subject: Science
Pro team: The Boston Celtics
Athlete: Jackie Smith (UConn basketball)
Movie: The Dark Knight
Of note: Plays varsity basketball
IMMEDIATE REACTION
Donnelly on Longmeadows season:
A lot of people thought we wouldnt be where we are because we lost a lot of star players. But weve really come together this year. Im proud of all of us. We were underestimated. We have a great coach. We are improving every game.
Coach George Mulry on Donnelly:
She has a captains role on this team and she takes it pretty serious. She has great court sense and she brings something to the table that is intangible.
Longmeadow defeated Chicopee 25-10, 25-17, 23-25, 25-13 on Friday in Chicopee. Katelyn Boutin led Longmeadow with 16 assists. Des Santaniello had 14 digs for Longmeadow and Mackenzie Ditomassi added five kills. Vickey Kuzmenko led Chicopee with five kills. Tanya Hryn had four aces and Lindsay Parenteau added four kills.
The upstart team gave the two-time reigning champion everything it had.
Think its close to Western Massachusetts high school volleyball tournament time?
Thats the way it looked Friday as Longmeadow needed to dig down deep in order to pull off a 3-1 victory over visiting Chicopee Comp on Senior Night.
The 3-1 margin hardly tells the story of this match. But the scores speak volumes about how well these two Division II hopefuls played.
Longmeadow won 25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 25-15. There was a lot of back-and-forth play, all-out hustle and sheer determination by two elite teams.
We may have gone into this game thinking it would be easy, so it was a good thing they made us work hard, Longmeadow standout Hannah McGann said. Were pumped up for the tournament. We dont like to talk about it because were a superstitious team, but we want it as bad as anyone.
At 15-2, the Lancers are expected to be a high seed. Longmeadows losses were to Frontier and Amherst.
Among the seniors who stepped up on their night was Stephanie Lauria, who had 12 kills and 23 digs.
Sara Underwood had three aces and 16 digs. Katelyn Boutin added 21 assists.
Longmeadow nearly put Comp (11-7) away in three, but the Colts were able to stave off match point and capture a 27-25 decision in the third game.
We came out pretty fired up, Comp coach Al Dobson said. Longmeadows a good team and I think while my girls were a little nervous coming in, they came away knowing they can play with this team.
J.C. Pickett was outstanding for the Colts. She was all over the court and finished with 12 kills, nine digs and two blocks.
Erin Sweeney had three aces, six kills and 23 assists.
Those awaiting what should be an exciting Western Massachusetts Division II high school volleyball tournament will have to wait a little longer.
With only eight teams in the field, the tournament will not begin until Tuesday. A three-team debate over the No.1 seed was won by two-time defending champion Longmeadow, which earned the top line on the bracket at Wednesdays seeding meeting.
West Springfield (19-1), whose only defeat came to Longmeadow (16-2), will be the No.2 seed, followed by Amherst (14-3), which split with Longmeadow this season.
Some teams, like Amherst, have had sparse schedules over the closing weeks of the season and are eager to hit the court in a meaningful situation.
Weve had three matches in three weeks, Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt said. Were just tired of practicing.
The 13-team Division III tournament begins Friday, with five first-round matches. Four-time defending champion Frontier Regional (18-0) is the top seed and has a bye until Monday along with No.2 Lee (18-0) and No.3 Ware (14-3).
We have a lot of unknowns because were a young team, Frontier coach Sean MacDonald said.
The 2009 tournament has a different feel than in recent years, thanks to the realignment by the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Four leagues became six, which gave some teams the chance to get out of tougher leagues and play more to their potential. Ludlow was the big beneficiary, as the Lions went 16-4 in the new Central Division and are the No.4 seed in Division II.
Theyve had a lot of success this season, and thats great, Longmeadow coach George Mulry said.
Several coaches have pegged No.5 Chicopee Comp (11-7) as a potential darkhorse in Division II. The Colts came on strong late in the season and have a coach, Al Dobson, with experience leading teams deep into the postseason. Comp has won the last two boys sectional titles under Dobson.
They improved drastically, said West Side coach Renee Ruiz, whose team played the Colts twice in the Western Division. That second time, they gave us a run for our money.
Longmeadow likely earned the No.1 seed by defeating West Springfield in five games earlier this season. The Lancers only other loss came to Frontier, which also defeated Amherst. Big-game experience should work to Longmeadows favor yet again.
However, the Terriers are itching for another chance at the champions.
They want that rematch with Longmeadow just to prove themselves, Ruiz said. They took that loss and have been working hard to adjust those mistakes they made.
Longmeadow opens defense of its championship against No.8 Putnam (8-12), while Frontiers bid for five in a row in Division III begins against the winner of Fridays Pioneer-Turners Falls match.
Turners is probably the best No.11 seed youll ever see, MacDonald said of his Northern Division rival.
Defending champion Longmeadow took the first step toward a third straight Western Mass. girls volleyball championship with an impressive 25-3, 25-14, 25-17 home victory over Putnam.
Anna McGann led the Lancers (17-2) with 10 aces and a block. Hannah McGrath had five kills, while Ali Donnelly handed out 21 assists.
No.8 Putnam (8-13) received contributions from Mileydiz Vazquez (3 kills, 4 blocks) and Karol Concepcion (6 assists). The Beavers made the tournament by finishing second in the Metro Division.
Today Chicopee Comp girls Volleyball will travel to Longmeadow High School to take on the Lancers in the Western Mass. Division II Semifinals, a team they have never beat.
Were playing a number of teams that we havent seen in the past the Minnechaugs and Agawams, Longmeadows and East Longmeadows. Theyre teams we hadnt beaten in the history of the program until this year. said head Coach Al Dobson. Comp lost to Longmeadow on October 30 three games to one, but Comp didn't just roll over. In game one Longmeadow won 25-22, game two Longmeadow 25-23, game three Comp pressure on early and squeaked out a win 27-25, and game four Longmeadow prevailed 25-15 to take the game.
"It's going to be a tough game" senior Libero Kimberly Abad said "But if we play like we did against Ludlow we can beat anybody". Indeed Comp is not underdog. They are led by experience with a total of seven seniors. Senior Erin Sweeney is arguably the best setter in Western Massachusetts, and they will need a top of the line performance from her to contend.
When asked what they need to do to win, junior Tanya Zhuk said "We need to play better defense than the previous time, because they take good angles on shots"
Longmeadow is 17-2 losing to Frontier and Amherst, the latter of which Comp lost three games to one in a similar fashion to which they lost to Longmeadow competing heavily in each game until the fourth.
Rest assured it will be a great game at Longmeadow High tonight at seven o'clock.
Remember this, Comp had never beaten Ludlow until their first round clash ended with a victory added to Comp's total. Can Comp do it again? We will see.
Could there have been a better semifinal match between these two teams?
It would be tough to beat the kind of game Longmeadow High and Chicopee Comprehensive played Thursday night in the Western Massachusetts Division II girls volleyball semifinals.
Cheers of lets go Meadow filled Robert M. DAgostino Gymnasium as top seed Longmeadow took on fifth seed Comp.
Both teams had many opportunities to cash in on chances, but it was Longmeadows night as it won a very competitive match in four sets: 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, and 25-23.
Theyre a great team and they battled us hard, said Longmeadow coach George Mulry. It was back and forth a lot and at some points, it got kind of scary.
Caroline Martin tallied 47 digs, Anna McGann had 15 kills, and Olivia OHara had nine kills and two blocks for a balanced Longmeadow attack.
It was a team effort, both teams really played hard tonight, and we came away with the win, said Mulry.
Chicopee Comp left its hearts out on the court.
Our team played really hard and Im very proud of them, Comp coach Al Dobson said. We beat some really good teams this year and lost to Longmeadow earlier in the year. We keep getting better and better.
Erin Sweeney played a great all-around game for the Colts, who will have six players returning next season.
Longmeadow is making a run at its third Western Mass. title in a row under Mulry.
With this win, the Lancers have earned the right to face West Springfield Saturday at 7 p.m. at Holyoke Community College.
Weve beaten them this year, Mulry said. The West Springfield team we play Saturday will be tough.
Highlights of Longmeadow's 3-1 WMass D-II girls volleyball tourney semifinals win over Comp
Longmeadow girls volleyball defeats Comp in WMass D-II Tournament semifinals
The word dynasty is often thrown about casually when it comes to sports, but it might be appropriate on Western Massachusetts high school volleyball courts.
With four straight sectional titles, Frontier Regional School has established itself as a dynasty in Division III.
Longmeadow would like to attain that status in Division II by adding a third consectuive championship, while West Springfield is hoping to put itself on the map with its first championship. Lee simply hopes it can pull off the biggest upset in Western Massachusetts volleyball history.
The top two seeds in Division II and III will meet Saturday at Holyoke Community College, as Frontier shoots for five in a row against Lee at 4 p.m., while Longmeadow aims for the three-peat against West Side at 7 p.m.
That nightcap could be one for the ages, if the last two meetings between Longmeadow and West Springfield are any indication. Longmeadow bested West Side in five games earlier this season and also in last years Division II quarterfinals. The losses served as a spark as the No.2-seed Terriers (21-1) bring the best record in Western Massachusetts to the Bartley Center.
Last year was definitely motivation, West Springfield outside hitter Vanessa Ruiz said. We just came back with fire in our heart and really wanted to win.
The top-seeded Lancers (18-2) will be ready for the challenge, and there is potential for another five-game classic. West Springfield needed such a performance to get past Amherst Regional in Thursdays semifinal.
On the Division III side, Saturdays match appears to be nothing more than another Frontier coronation. On paper, the No.1 Red Hawks (20-0) havent faced such a potential mismatch in its four previous championship victories. Those were at least against Northern Division rivals they knew well.
The No.2 Wildcats, also 20-0, dont play the type of schedule Frontier does. The Red Hawks defeated Longmeadow, Amherst and Division III state powerhouse Millis this season. Lees biggest victory outside of Berkshire County was against Easthampton.
Just ask the Longmeadow High School volleyball team.
Faced with a tough task against West Springfield in Saturday's Western Massachusetts Division II final, the Lancers figured their two previous victories on this stage would be the difference.
That premonition proved correct as Longmeadow took the first two games 25-16 and 25-18 before West Side shook off its title match jitters and won the third 25-22. The fourth game was superb, but the Lancers pulled it out 27-25 to take their third consecutive championship.
Longmeadow (19-2) will take on South sectional champion Bourne in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Westborough High School. The state final is at 3 p.m. Saturday at Algonquin Regional High School.
"Having the experience of being in Western Mass., it's a totally different atmosphere, and I think that helped the girls immensely," Longmeadow coach George Mulry said. "Even if it's worth two or three points, that's the difference at the end of the match."
Game four saw the Lancers play the role of comeback kids. Trailing 17-11 at one point, Mulry's team chipped away and only took the lead for the final two points of the match. Of course, those are the ones that matter most.
When Steph Lauria's spike hit a West Side player and careened out of bounds, the Lancers could finally exhale and rejoice.
"The thought of going to five games was really hard," Lauria said. "We just knew that if we wanted to come out strong, we had to bring it right in the first couple of points and keep going with that."
Lauria had nine aces, seven kills and 16 digs, while Caroline Martin had 39 digs and Anna McGann pounded 15 kills.
The Terriers (21-2) received 18 kills and four blocks from Vanessa Ruiz in the biggest match in the program's history. Amanda Schlichting handed out 27 assists, and Valentina Ruskevich came off the bench to provide four aces.
"They have to be proud," West Side coach Renee Ruiz said. "In West Springfield volleyball history, nobody's ever accomplished this."
The Terriers began to play like the No. 2 seed in the third game, in which they took the lead for good at 6-5 and never relinquished it. Ruskevich served an ace to seal it.
After winning the opening game fairly easily, Longmeadow needed to play from behind in the second. The Lancers trailed 14-12 before rattling off three straight points to take the lead. McGann's ace gave her team the 2-0 edge in the match.
For Lauria and two other seniors, the victory keeps their careers going for at least one more match.
"This is my last year, and I really wanted to be a part of it with my team," Lauria said. "We came this far, and we're going to keep going."
One round away, became one game away. And then it was three points away. But the next hope for a state championship is now one season away for the Longmeadow High School girls volleyball team.
The Lancers had another dream season stopped short in the Division II state semifinals, this time with a 3-2 loss to Bourne Wednesday night at Westborough High School.
The game scores went 25-11, 22-25, 23-25, 25-18 and 15-12 in Bournes favor during a spirited contest.
This was a great season, there will be a great group of girls here next year, and years to come, who will use this as a stepping block for the program, said Longmeadow senior Katelyn Boutin said.
Longmeadow had won its third consecutive Western Massachusetts Division II title last weekend, but for the third straight year missed out on a bid to play for the state title.
The last few years, we hadnt been able to win a game, Longmeadow coach George Mulry said. This is a great step in the right direction. We were hoping to surprise some people and I think we opened a few eyes tonight.
Longmeadow led two games to one, before coming up short down the stretch. Bourne won the final three points, snapping a 12-12 tie in the deciding game.
We had some unforced errors and you just cant do that at this level of volleyball, Mulry said.
Bourne (17-2) advances to Saturdays state title match against the winner of last nights other semifinal between Melrose (23-1) and defending state champion Medfield (23-0). The championship is set for 3 p.m. at Algonquin Regional High School.
That is one helluva team, and we knew that before the game, Bourne coach Tim Acton said. Theyre tall, they served great, they attacked well. They forced it on us right til the end.
Longmeadow, with only two seniors, finished at 19-3.
We tried our hardest, we have a great team and its a sad way for it to end, Longmeadow senior Steph Lauria said.
Lauria had 11 kills and 21 digs, Caroline Martin had 37 digs and Ali Donnelly had 28 assists.
Bourne appeared in control early, cruising in the first game to a 25-11 win.
The Cape Cod school led 11-4 in the second, before Longmeadow rallied to grab a 20-19 lead. Sophomore Cady Deary served the winner to finish it off at 25-21.
In the third game, the Lancers let a 22-19 lead slip away at 23-22, but Martin served the final two points in a 3-0 run to close it.
Longmeadow jumped to a 7-2 lead in the fourth game. Bourne tied it at 8 and opened a 17-12 lead and never looked back.
The Lancers were up 6-2 and 8-4 in the fourth. Bourne took its first lead at 9-8 and it was a 20-12 Bourne lead in a blink of an eye. Longmeadow closed as close as five, at 23-18, but fell short.
The Lancers had won their third straight Western Mass. title with a 3-1 win over West Springfield last Saturday.
We put our hearts into this, Boutin said. This game meant a lot, its just hard to end this way.
Longmeadow, which had lost only to Frontier and Amherst this fall, was swept in the state semifinal round in 2008 by Central Catholic of Lawrence and in 2007 by Westboro.
Bourne, which had lost only two games all postseason, reached a state final for the sixth time in 10 years. The Canalwomen were finalists in 2006 and 2007 and were Division III champions in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
