Lynnfield bows out in state semis

TAUNTON – The Lynnfield volleyball team?s season came to an end on Thursday evening after a 3-0 loss to South champion Fairhaven in the Division 3 State Semifinals. The Blue Devils won by scores of 25-23, 26-24 and 25-20.The Pioneers, however, nearly pulled out victories in the first two sets before the Blue Devils struggled to finish off the sweep.?The final score did not reflect the way the match was played at all,” said Lynnfield coach Michelle Perrone. “This was a very evenly-matched game, but the philosophy of ?the team with the fewest mistakes wins? held true and that unfortunately wasn?t us.”The Pioneers came out slow, falling behind 6-1 before a desperate timeout was called. Fairhaven would lead by as many as eight (14-6) before Lynnfield scored four straight points to cut the deficit to three at 18-15.Following consecutive unforced errors on the Blue Devils and a timeout, Lynnfield tied the score at 20 with an ace from Kelly Corcoran. The Pioneers took their first lead of the set on an ensuing kill from Emma Mancini. Trailing 23-21, Fairhaven scored four straight points, including two kills from Katie Leidhold, to take the lead at 24-23. A defensive miscue on the Pioneers ended the set.Lynnfield came out aggressively in the second set, grabbing early leads of 3-0 and 7-4 before the Blue Devils rallied to knot the score at 11-11. The Pioneers answered with two kills apiece from Katherine Lawless and Mancini, before a Corcoran ace forced Fairhaven into a timeout.The Blue Devils would trail by as many as eight, but hung around and eventually capitalized on some Lynnfield miscues. Trailing 24-22, Fairhaven rallied to score four consecutive points to shock the Pioneers and grab a 2-0 lead.?Our defense struggled tonight and didn?t have the movement it usually does,” explained Perrone. “When you play a team as good as Fairhaven you have to show up defensively and we didn?t do that tonight.”The final set was much of the same, as the Pioneers hung tough, but failed to find the extra gear needed to eke out a win. Up 11-7, Lynnfield allowed a seven-point swing that gave Fairhaven a 14-11 lead.From there, the Blue Devils scored five straight to increase the lead to 19-11 before the teams alternated points down the stretch. A cross-court kill from Leidhold gave way to an unforced error on Lynnfield that wrapped things up.The Pioneers will lose six players to graduation.?Our seniors have been around the program since they were in middle school and they have accomplished a lot,” said Perrone. “They won four sectional finals and three Cape Ann League titles in a row and now they made it to the finals. They should be very, very proud.”