By DAN PAWLOWSKI
TEWKSBURY — A road match in the state tournament is always a challenge.
The 17th-ranked Wakefield High volleyball team embraced that challenge on Friday when they traveled to No. 16 Tewksbury High.
Bringing their own noise, along with plenty of help from a well-represented Warrior fan base, Wakefield made the TMHS gym feel like home from start to finish as they rolled to a 3-0 victory with set scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-18.
“We played as one, with the mindset that the game is not over until we get all three sets,” said head coach Kayla Wyland. “There was no let up and there was no question — the girls knew the job and got it done.”
Wakefield’s complete team effort featured strong hitting, solid defense, dominant serving, smart passing and an imposing net-front presence as the visitors clicked on all cylinders, something they hope to continue in the Round of 16 tomorrow night at 7 p.m. when they travel to reigning state champion and top-ranked Weston.
Junior Lila Arkinstall led in kills with 12 followed by junior Jackie Sullivan with 6 as Wakefield’s two middle hitters found plenty of success at the front of the net, created by setters, juniors Tori Grace and Allison Cook.
The Warriors got production from their outside hitters as well, especially juniors Cara Carangelo and captain Mia Kenny who each had 4 kills.
Wakefield’s serving included 4 aces each by Kenny, senior captain Sophia Anderson and junior Brendia Diaz.
Anderson with 29 digs, senior captain Brooklyn Calder and Kenny set the tone defensively, never giving up on plays and working hard to set up their attack.
Wakefield played confidently from the start, and although both teams had some mishits early in the first set, Wakefield’s fearless hitting eventually lead to an early lead after kills from Arkinstall, Sullivan and Carangelo.
“Our team has been working on being really aggressive on the court —being smart and aggressive, not safe,” says Wyland. “That really started clicking in this match.”
Aces from Sullivan, Calder and Diaz helped the Warriors pull away after Tewksbury got to within two at 14-12. That would be a theme throughout as Wakefield’s serving kept the home team off-balance all night.
“Our serving led us, making the other team struggle to be in system and we really capitalized on that offensively,” said Wyland.
A booming block kill by Kenny at the net ended a gritty rally between the two teams and took all of the wind out of a potential Tewksbury comeback.
“Having Mia back has been huge for us offensively and with her amazing serve receive,” said Wyland as the captain had missed the last few games with an injury.
Arkinstall helped her team finish strong in set one with a block followed by a kill in the middle after another wild rally to end it at 25-17.
The Warriors kept their foot on the gas in set 2, racing out to a 7-2 lead after aces from Calder and Anderson and two more kills from Arkinstall.
Tewksbury made a comeback bid in this one, cutting the Wakefield lead to 17-14, forcing a timeout from Wyland. An Arkinstall kill and two consecutive, perfectly-placed aces down the line from Anderson regained control and Sullivan had two more highlights to help Wakefield finish it with a kill and then a block.
Anderson and Calder were especially impressive defensively in this set. Wakefield’s two senior captains never give up on a rally, a mindset that the rest of their teammates have embraced as the Warriors have carefully cultivated a scrappy identity in which surrendering a point without a full effort is never an option.
“Defense is so important in any sport, and our defense worked like a true unit, passing consistently to our setters and setting us up for success to our attackers,” said Wyland.
Wakefield met some adversity in the third set with Wyland calling timeout as Tewksbury took an 11-9 lead. The Warriors responded by finishing the match on a 16-7 run. Kills from Carangelo, Kenny and Arkinstall regained the lead and the Warriors ran away with it thanks to two more aces from Diaz, strong defense led by Anderson and more powerful hits from Arkinstall.
“Sophia, Lila and Brendia really had unbelievable matches,” said the coach. “Sophia being all over the court, Lila being relentless in the attack and Brendia on many pressure moments from the service line, serving extremely consistent and aggressive, gave us so much momentum.”
In the end, the Warriors left no doubts as they will get ready to move on.
“They work so hard, hours and hours, together to achieve our goals and they can look back on this day and say they made themselves proud and Wakefield proud,” said Wyland. “The practices leading up to that game set us up for success. They were focused, energized, and we made practices harder than the game would feel. They have been continuing to embrace and enjoy the challenge and the competition and it shows.
“This team has so much heart and chemistry together. We are looking forward to bringing this into our next match.”
About that next match. Wakefield will see a familiar foe in Weston, who moved to 14-6 on the season with a 3-0 win over No. 33 Greater Lowell Tech in the First Round. The Warriors and Wildcats met in the Div. 3 Final Four at Billerica High last year. Weston won it 3-1 on their way to a state championship. Wakefield was the only team in the state tournament to take a set off of Weston.
Wakefield knows, to beat the state champs in their own gym will require an enormous amount of the same confidence and aggressiveness that they took to Tewksbury. The Warriors will embrace their underdog status and bring it for every point in the hopes of securing their second upset of the tournament.
“An upset is always such a great feeling,” says Wyland. “Ranking is just a number, and that number does not define who we are. Our goal is to get back to where we were last year and get our unfinished business, finished.”
The winner of tomorrow night’s match will meet the winner of No. 9 Newburyport vs. No. 8 Ashland in the State Quarterfinals.