Warrior volleyball’s first tourney win is an instant classic

THE 2021 WAKEFIELD High volleyball team celebrated the first state tournament victory in program history on Thursday night in Milford. The No. 20 Warriors will travel to No. 4 Billerica for round two tonight at 6 p.m. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

 

Wakefield travels to Billerica for Round 2 tonight

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

MILFORD — The 2021 Wakefield High volleyball team had already envisioned this moment: competing together in the state tournament – the first team in Wakefield history to do so.

The Warriors, underdogs as the 20th seed in No. 13 Milford’s gym on Thursday night, 50 miles from home, stuck together through four sets of exciting, pressure-packed volleyball to make their vision come true, bringing home the program’s first state tournament victory by a final score of 3-1.

“I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for this group,” said second-year head coach Kayla Wyland. “It’s really nice when the hard work pays off. They’ve come in every single day, so dedicated and so ready to go, just believing in the philosophy and each other and trusting each other; to have this happen to such a great group like that, is just outstanding. They are paving the way for the future of Wakefield volleyball.”

The immediate future for Wakefield is Division 2’s round of 16, a matchup at No. 4 Billerica tonight at 6 p.m.

It will be a tough environment, with boisterous fans locked into each hit. Luckily for Wakefield, they will be used to it.

The Warriors trailed 23-19 in the fourth set on Thursday with Milford looking all but certain to tie it up at 2-2 and force a fifth set. Unfazed by the stress and the noise, Wakefield went on a 6-0 run to make their first tourney win a reality.

“We’ve had a lot of five-set games so we wanted to work hard enough to, well, not get to that point,” said captain Amanda Nett with a laugh as coach Wyland thanked her.

Senior captain Mia Desruisseaux (6 kills) was serving during Wakefield’s final run, an ace through the loud chants of Milford’s student section cutting the deficit to 23-21. Senior Claire Donahue’s (1 kill, 4 aces) tip at the net made it 23-22 and forced a Milford timeout.

 

 

The Warriors repeat the same words of affirmation before practice and games. One of the phrases they say in unison is, “I can perform well under pressure,” a line no doubt created by Wyland and her staff who know all too well the intensity of state tournament games. If their Warriors really wanted to win in the tournament, they needed to welcome those high-pressure situations.

Wakefield did just that, with senior Talia Thomson getting two of her seven kills to help close out the victory.

“These past four years, we’ve cared so much for this program and it’s exciting that our hard work has paid off,” said senior captain Maddy Seabury, who led the Warriors with 14 kills. “We all care so deeply and we knew that we could do it so it’s great to see all the pieces come into place.”

Wyland and her staff have stressed the importance of bouncing back this season. Volleyball is about momentum. Every team makes mistakes, it’s about how you respond.

Wakefield’s mettle was tested early in Milford as the Hawks closed a competitive set one on an 8-2 run to win it 25-18 and take a 1-0 lead. In the tournament, a 1-0 lead for the home team can feel insurmountable.

The Warriors didn’t feel that way, battling for their first state tourney set win with a 25-23 W in the 2nd set and cruising to a 25-17 victory in set 3 before making their three sets to none run official by taking the fourth.

“We all played smart, we all played hard, we all played our position,” said Nett. “Milford was really tough competition. I’m just happy we were able to power through, work together and get it done.”

The second set came down to the wire. Wakefield took a 20-15 lead and forced a timeout when sophomore Savannah Cummings (4 kills) found the court on Milford’s side after Nett kept a rally alive with an athletic play. The Hawks responded well and eventually took a 22-21 lead. Junior Mia Forti (6 kills) had a clutch block-kill to tie it up but a Wakefield error made it 23-22.

Seabury appeared to tie after a Desruisseaux dig and Donahue assist but it was ruled inconclusive. Wakefield responded by going back to their force in the middle on an identical play as Desruisseaux received the serve with a perfect ball to Donahue who played it up for another smash by Seabury, this one a no-doubter to make it 23-all. Two violations by Milford resulted in the 25-23 final.

The third set was even more intense as Wakefield started to find their groove. A Desruisseaux ace and a Forti block-kill led to an early 8-5 lead and Milford later called a timeout at 13-8 to stem the tide but even without a Red Sea, Wakefield had plenty of noise from friends and family in the visitor’s stands as they pushed their Warriors on, a Cummings kill and two more Desruisseaux spikes eventually making it 22-13 before Wakefield closed it at 25-17.

The fourth and fateful set started well again for the Warriors, a Seabury kill and ace from junior Christa Imbriano leading to a 5-2 advantage. Milford responded well again, eventually reclaiming the lead at 12-11 but another Seabury strike and Donahue’s first of three service aces in the set made it 13-12 Wakefield.

Milford won two of the best rallies of the match to gain even more momentum during a 10-2 run to make it 22-18 Hawks, a lead that again felt insurmountable before Wakefield’s incredible 6-0 run later ended it.

That Warrior response is what made Wyland most proud. Wakefield ended their regular season with a 3-0 loss to Marblehead on senior night. The Warriors didn’t let that affect their confidence or even throw out the result, they used it as fuel.

“It’s really easy to dwell on a loss like that but they chose to use it to grow and improve for the next game so it was a learning opportunity instead of a disappointment,” said Wyland. “That’s a huge reason why we have games like tonight because our last game was one of those challenges and they came into tonight ready to use what they learned. That’s what makes this team so special.”

Now, the Warriors can take what they learned in their first tournament game and use it to prepare for their next one, tonight in Billerica against a powerful team who finished the regular season at 18-2.

“We’ll play our game,” said Nett when asked about the next round. “During practice we’ll just keep everything the same and keep working hard. Whatever we have to get through, we’ll get through it together.”

“We’re very excited to have this opportunity,” said Seabury. “We know our job, we know what to do. I think we’re ready.”