Volleyball team bows to Franklin in Hock Classic

It isn’t often that a coach heaps praise on her players after a loss, but that was the case last Thursday after the CHS volleyball team played their hearts out in a 3-1 loss to Franklin in the annual Hockomock Classic.

Senior Olivia Murphy (Mike Barucci photo)

Not usually one for moral victories, especially with a team as talented as this year’s Bulldogs, head coach Pat Cawley was nonetheless thrilled with the way her team performed against the fourth-ranked Panthers, even going so far as to call it “one of the best played and most exciting” volleyball matches that Canton has ever been a part of.

“The girls gave it everything they had and left Franklin with their heads held high,” said Cawley, insisting afterwards that “neither team deserved the loss.”

It certainly was closer than the score indicated. In fact, other than a blowout win in set one by the Bulldogs, every other set went down to the wire, with the Panthers prevailing each time by an average margin of just two points (25-23, 31-29, 25-22).

The final two sets were especially dramatic as Canton overcame deficits of 9-3 and 12-6, respectively, only to lose both sets in heartbreaking fashion.

Even in defeat there were several memorable performances. Sisters Olivia and Julia Murphy were dominant offensively, combining for 26 kills and three blocks, while senior Shannon Brady had a great overall match with 32 assists, three blocks, and three kills.

The team also played excellent defense behind juniors Mellyn Costello and Kaitlin Phillips, who combined for 39 kills. Other standouts included senior Alison McHugh and sophomore Avery Devoe.

“I am very proud of the way our team played today,” said Cawley afterwards. “We were focused and relentless. Our setting was strong, our offense aggressive, and our defense quick. The blocking affected the Franklin offense time and again.”

Overall, Canton finished its season series with Franklin at 1-2. Meanwhile, the team continued its dominance against the rest of the league, improving to 11-1 in the Hock and 8-0 in the Davenport Division last week with a 3-1 win over Stoughton on Senior Night.

The team honored its six seniors prior to the start of the match, and then the seniors came through on the court, winning the first two sets with ease behind the strong play of Hayley Reissfelder, Sarah Bartlett and Lauren Hartnett.

Cawley then turned to her underclassmen, who struggled somewhat in a close loss in set three. However, the girls bounced back with a strong performance in set four (25-15) to take the match.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to travel to Quincy earlier this week to take on the 13-4 Presidents in their regular season finale. Then it’s on to the sectional tournament, where the girls will look to punctuate their successful season with a deep postseason run.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=9307

Posted by Jay Turner on Nov 2 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.