CHS volleyball reaches 2nd straight D2 sectional final
By Jay Turner
The Bulldogs had plenty to celebrate this season despite Saturday’s loss. (Mike Barucci photo)
For the second year in a row, the CHS varsity volleyball team entered the Division 2 central sectional tournament on a season-long roll and muscled its way to the title game as the number-one overall seed. Only this time, the magic ran out a little too soon as Canton fell to No. 2 Westborough 3-1 on Saturday at Hudson High School.
While it certainly wasn’t the ending that the girls had envisioned for themselves, the Bulldogs still had every reason to be proud after advancing to their second straight sectional final and going toe to toe with one of the very best teams in the state.
“Just to make it this far is a huge accomplishment, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of these girls,” remarked head coach Pat Cawley, who has helped turn the program into a perennial powerhouse. “Having only one returning starter (senior captain Avery Devoe), it is a tribute to their work ethic and heart that they made it to this point.”
In addition to both of those attributes, Cawley’s Bulldogs also had plenty of talent, and it was on full display in wins over No. 9 Marlboro and No. 5 Hopkinton and again on Saturday against the 19-2 Rangers.
“We started slowly and felt the pressure of the big stage,” acknowledged Cawley. “However, halfway into the second set, we picked up our game and realized we belonged.”
After back-to-back losses to open the match (25-15, 25-21), the Bulldogs grabbed an early lead in set three and never looked back, winning 25-19 behind the powerful hitting of Devoe and Elizabeth Hamilton. The girls then continued to play well in set four, building a 15-12 lead before Westborough made a late run to close out the match.
“We dug in but didn’t have enough on this day to take the set,” said Cawley.
For the Bulldogs, the loss marked the end of another storybook season — one that saw the squad finish 19-3 and repeat as Hockomock Davenport Division champions. They also collected 12 shutouts along the way, including one last week against Marlboro in the tournament quarterfinals (25-8, 25-18, 25-14).
Of all their victories, however, last week’s 3-1 win over Hopkinton in the sectional semis had to be the most impressive, as it came against a formidable Hillers squad that seemed to have Canton’s number in previous postseasons.
The Bulldogs, in fact, had never beaten Hopkinton before, but they “reached down deep” and pulled out a trio of nail-biting wins — all by a final score of 27-25.
“This was one of the most exciting matches in recent history,” marveled Cawley, who seemed to run out of superlatives to describe the performance of her team.
Devoe, she said, was “nothing short of amazing” as she finished with a career-high 30 kills, including 13 in set four alone. Hamilton was also “outstanding” in the win, racking up 20 kills, five aces, and 13 digs, while Proctor was “masterful” running the offense and finished with a career-high 47 assists to go with two kills and 14 digs.
Other key contributors for Canton against the Hillers included Chidera Nwankwo, Ellie Teague, Sarah Reissfelder, and Kim Frazier. Olivia Devoe came off the bench and added a couple of huge service points, while Danielle Arthur and Shay Connolly contributed solid defense and continually kept the ball in play.
In their previous win against Marlboro, the Bulldogs got off to a blistering start and cruised to a straight-set win behind Devoe (13 kills), Hamilton (10 kills), and Proctor (23 assists, 5 kills). Lauren Brady and Julie Newton both had several big serves, while Sarojini Schutt had a couple of key blocks. Meghan Hartnett added a few big assists, and Rye Verille and Julia Mackie played well at the net.
Overall, Cawley said she was thrilled with the team’s performance in the tournament and was grateful for the loyal support of the fans, many of whom made the long drive out to Hudson for Saturday’s championship game.
“I can’t say enough about the heart and mental fortitude this team displayed in the tournament,” she said. “They will forever be a special CHS volleyball team.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=23048
Posted by Jay Turner
on Nov 14 2013. Filed under High School, Sports.
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