Published November 21, 2018
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
HUDSON —”Historic” is a more than fair adjective to use for the 2018 Lynnfield High volleyball team.
They stormed through their second season in Div. 2 and claimed the North crown without losing a single set in four games.
They won a share of the Cape Ann League title after upsetting Masco on Oct. 17 and beat more Div. 1 talents like Reading, North Andover and Winchester, all with just one senior (Sam DeGeorge) on the team. Yes, captain DeGeorge played a vital role in the middle and will certainly be missed next year, but this junior class learned a lot during their state semifinal game against Groton-Dunstable on Nov. 13 at Hudson High School.
It was a five-set thriller with alternating set wins until the Crusaders won the final set, 15-10.
At first glance, and admittedly from the perspective of those in the Lynnfield stands, the loss against the co-ed Crusaders was difficult to accept. Groton-Dunstable’s male libero, Peter White, played a fantastic game and won plenty of points from the service line but Lynnfield head coach Brent Ashley refuses to let that be the narrative.
“We should have closed them out,” said Ashley, who was more impressed with G-D’s middle hitter, senior Lily Blodgett.
JUNIOR CAPTAIN Melissa Morelli sends a fake set over for a kill during Lynnfield state semifinals against Groton-Dunstable on Nov. 13 while Sophia Wilkinson (7) and Kayla Mortellite (10) look on. Morelli was recently named to the Massachusetts’ Div. 2 All State team. She was one of just two juniors to make the 11-player team. The other nine were seniors. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
It was a charged atmosphere at Hudson High from the start. Though both teams were a little groggy, especially Lynnfield playing their fifth game in nine days, the Pioneers jumped out to a 10-5 lead after back-to-back kills from junior captain Melissa Morelli. DeGeorge put down a massive block for an 11-5 lead, forcing a timeout from the Crusaders.
Groton-Dunstable started to crawl back thanks to some great tips that continued to find soft spots in the Lynnfield defense; a trend that would continue in later sets. The rallies started to get longer thanks to great digging from both back lines, especially setter Sophia Wilkinson for Lynnfield.
Junior Sam Lebruska got a kill to make it 19-13 and Morelli had a statement hit and kill that caused one of the Pioneer superfans in the front row of the student section to feign a pass out. He would be alright.
The Crusaders stayed in it until a great shot in the middle from DeGeorge ended a rally and made it 24-19. Lebruska ended the set with a cross-court kill.
For the first time all postseason, the Pioneers finally showed signs of fatigue in the second set. After keeping it close early, G-D went up in the middle part of the frame and the Pioneers couldn’t rally back. Lynnfield took a timeout trailing 18-14 and although Morelli hit a bomb kill out of the break, the Crusaders clamped down on defense and gave Lynnfield their first set loss of the postseason on a final ace.
Knowing full well that this was going to be a grind, the Pioneers gutted out a great performance in the third set in front of rapidly rowdy G-D crowd.
It took an early comeback to keep Lynnfield in this one.
The Crusaders took a 4-0 lead before Morelli got Lynnfield on the board. A kill from Wilkinson, a block from junior Kayla Mortellite and a kill from Lebruska got Lynnfield right back in it at 5-5.
White clamped down on the back line for the Crusaders as nothing got by him and he continued to bail out poor receptions from his teammates. Groton-Dunstable jumped out to a 13-9 lead, forcing another timeout from Ashley who chose to slow the momentum earlier in this set.
Blodgett continued to pick up timely kills for G-D but Lynnfield’s defense found their grove in a comeback attempt. Following some Crusader errors and double hits, Morelli and Lebruska got some key kills for Lynnfield and junior Mac Schena had a nice tip to force a G-D timeout with Lynnfield trailing 20-18.
Lynnfield made the better adjustments in the timeout as Morelli got the first point, then a net violation and double hit gave Lynnfield their first lead of the set.
A kill from Wilkinson forced another timeout but G-D stormed back to tie it at 23.
Cue Sam Lebruska.
The junior hitter stepped up and won a fight at the net to take a 24-23 lead and finished the set with a powerful spike to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead.
The Pioneers probably had too much adrenaline to notice it at first, but that set really wore them down. Lynnfield, like they have all season, continued to treat this big stages like summer volleyball, keeping it light and having fun as they got ready for the fourth.
The fourth was a battle from the jump. Morelli, after White made a ridiculous dig on her first spike attempt, left no doubts on her second hit, putting down a powerful kill to tie it at 14. G-D won the set and quite possibly the game on three consecutive aces from White. His serves had too much power and movement for Lynnfield’s back line to handle as G-D took an 18-14 lead and forced a timeout from Ashley.
The Pioneer student section gave White all he could handle out of the break, no doubt helping force him to hit it into the net as Ashley gave the students a nod.
Most coaches wouldn’t be blamed for pointing at the run by White, but Ashley focused on the consecutive Pioneer mishits that made it 20-15 G-D and put the set out of reach. Like he said, the Pioneers had a chance to close out the Crusaders in the fourth set, but they couldn’t do it.
The Crusaders and their fans capitalized on the tension and their momentum in the fifth set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead as they switched sides. Morelli led a comeback, forcing a G-D timeout with the score 12-7 and eventually cutting it to 13-9 but the Crusaders held on for a 15-10 win. They went on to win the Div. 2 State Championship.
It was a wild game with a charged atmosphere. The Pioneers will no doubt learn from this experience as they set their sights on next season, but for now, they should celebrate a truly historic season.
