Published in the November 18, 2015 edition
THE VOLLEYBALL TEAM celebrates winning its sixth straight Division 3 North championship after the Pioneers defeated Austin Prep 3-0 in the finals at Tewksbury Memorial High School Nov. 14. Back row, from left, head coach Michelle Perrone, Katie Nugent, Jessica Badger, Laura Mucci, Rebecca Albanese, senior captain Mary Kate Deighan, senior captain Jess Dwyer, Kaitlin Flannery, Jessica Morelli, Shannon Ryan and Ali McPherson. Front row, from left, Elana Kolter, Emory Caswell, Makayla Maffeo, Maxine Boyle, Cameron Foley and Olivia Pascucci. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
TEWKSBURY — The dynasty marches on.
Lynnfield High’s volleyball team won its sixth straight Division 3 North sectional championship after the eighth seeded Pioneers defeated fourth seed Austin Prep 3-0 in the finals at Tewksbury Memorial High School Nov. 14.
“This never gets old,” said Pioneers head coach Michelle Perrone, who has won six D-3 North sectional titles in her eight years on the sidelines. “And the reason why it doesn’t get old is every senior class is a different senior year class. The seniors take ownership because they know the program’s history and expectations. I am thrilled for the senior class this year.”
On Tuesday, the spikers followed up this win by shutting out Sutton in the D-3 state semifinals to earn a spot in the state title game on Saturday, Nov. 21, at noon at Fitchburg High School.
SENIORS, from left, Kaitlin Flannery, captain Mary Kate Deighan, captain Jess Dwyer, Jessica Morelli and Shannon Ryan proudly display the Division 3 North championship trophy after the volleyball team defeated Austin Prep 3-0 in the finals at Tewksbury Memorial High School Nov. 14. The Pioneers have won six straight D-3 North sectional titles. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
Senior captain Jess Dwyer concurred with Perrone’s sentiment.
“This is incredibly special because it’s our senior year,” said Dwyer. “It’s always a big deal to get your year up on the banner. We love our team. We are more than a team; we are like a family. It was so important for us to stay together.”
Senior captain Mary Kate Deighan agreed.
“We were focused all season on becoming North champions and CAL (Cape Ann League) champs,” said Deighan.
Lynnfield won all four of its North sectional tournament games 3-0.
Austin Prep took an early 7-4 lead in the first set, prompting Perrone to call a timeout. The Pioneers bounced back and cut the Cougars’ lead to two, 9-7, in the beginning of the first set.
The Pioneers continued to rally and tied the set at 14. Lynnfield went on a 5-1 run and took a 19-15 lead. The Cougars responded by going on a 5-1 run of their own, which tied the set at 20.
Undaunted, the Pioneers took a 22-20 after the locals ran several plays for juniors Katie Nugent and Olivia Pascucci. The Cougars called a late timeout to make a late first set push.
The plan backfired. The Pioneers had a 23-21 lead when Pascucci started serving. Pascucci scored two straight points to win the first set 25-21.
Austin Prep stormed out of the gate and jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the second set. The Cougars had a 12-8 lead when the Pioneers came roaring back and managed to tie the set at 13, prompting the Cougars to call a timeout.
“It was a time for us to regroup and remember what was on the line and what we are playing for,” said Perrone about the Austin Prep timeout. “That conversation we had stemmed a fire in our players, particularly our seniors.”
After the timeout, the Cougars had a 14-13 lead when senior Jessey Morelli started serving. She scored 11 straight service points to help the Pioneers secure a 25-14 second set victory.
“Jessey was fantastic,” said Perrone of Morelli’s clutch performance in the second set.
The Pioneers and Cougars exchanged leads in the third set, with Lynnfield taking an early 7-5 lead. Austin Prep rallied and briefly took a 14-13 lead halfway through the third set.
Lynnfield regained its focus and went on a 6-3 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Cougars went on a late run down the stretch and cut the locals’ lead to three, 22-19.
Unwilling to break, the Pioneers concluded the match by going on a 3-1 run to win the third set, 25-20, as well as its sixth straight Division 3 North sectional title.
“It was a team effort,” said Perrone. “That’s the one thing about volleyball. It’s usually not one player that can make or break the team. The whole team has to stay together. Everyone did a fantastic job.”
“It’s just amazing,” added Dwyer. “I can’t even describe it.”
Nugent, who was named a CAL All-League player and All- State player, led the Pioneers with 22 kills.
“Katie made some great plays on the outside,” said Perrone.
Dwyer had 24 digs against Austin Prep and also played excellent defense.
“Jess played great defense in the back,” said Perrone.
Morelli had 14 assists and five aces.
“Jessey really served up the winners for us in the second set,” said Perrone. “I think she played solid all the way around.”
Senior Shannon Ryan, who was named CAL Player of the Year and was also named an All-State player, added 15 assists.
Perrone credited the Pioneers’ sixth straight Division 3 North sectional title to the team’s communication.
“When we play well, our communication is at its peak,” said Perrone. “When we are not playing great, it’s because of a lack of communication. We strive to work on that in practice and in games, so that helps us keep our momentum on the court.”
Deighan agreed with her coach.
“We are a smallish team and we have a really close knit team that really sticks together,” said Deighan. “We worked on our communication throughout the season and I think we have really come together.”
The Pioneers will be heading to the Division 3 North state semifinals with a 15-7 record. While the Pioneers were seeded lower in this year’s tournament compared to previous years due to playing a tougher schedule that included matches against Bishop Fenwick, North Andover and Reading, Dwyer said Perrone always kept the Pioneers focused on the task at hand.
“We were always positive,” said Dwyer. “Ms. Perrone always says to us to keep pushing. That has helped us this whole season. Without her giving us a positive attitude, we wouldn’t have done this well.”
While the Pioneers are certainly thrilled to win their sixth straight Division 3 North sectional title, Dwyer said they still have one goal to cross off their to do list.
“We wanted to be North champs and CAL champs, but we are really hoping to get a brand new state champs banner on the (gym) wall,” said Dwyer. “It would be awesome to make volleyball history.”
State Title Game Sat.
The Pioneers faced Division 3 Central champion Sutton in the state semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 17, taking place after deadline.
Lynnfield defeated Sutton and will face either Division 3 South champion Case or D-3 West champion Frontier in the state finals on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Fitchburg High School, beginning at noon.
Frontier defeated Lynnfield 3-2 in the 2014 state semifinals.
