Lynnfield volleyball blanks Pope John

LYNNFIELD – With a spot in the MIAA state tournament under wraps, the Lynnfield volleyball team has focused on refining such talents as serving – and that’s a skill that led the Pioneers to a sweep of Pope John on Wednesday.Eight different players combined for 18 aces including Mary Kate Deighan (6 kills) and Shannon Ryan (7 assists), who finished with six apiece en route to set victories of 25-6, 25-14 and 25-6.”Our serving consistency was very strong with regards to hitting our target spots,” said coach Michelle Perrone. “It’s something we work on as a team throughout the season and it was definitely a highlight tonight.”Emma Mancini was the story in the opener, tallying three of her seven kills (8 total) before an ace and ensuing service point from Katie Nugent (4 kills) forced the Tigers into a timeout, trailing 8-1.The hosts stretched their lead to 16-4 before ripping off five consecutive points to end things, including the final two kills from Jessica Badger.”Emma is just a great volleyball. She’s come to far since her sophomore year,” Perrone said of Mancini. “We obviously look to her for offense but her defense (5 digs) is exceptional as well. She’s the complete package.”Set No.2 saw Lynnfield jump out to a quick leads of 5-1 and 14-2, with Deighan (4 aces) and Ryan (2) paving the way.Olivia Pascucci added a kill and an ace for the Pioneers who emptied its bench before the visitors scored six straight points, its best sequence of the match, late in the session.”The future is definitely bright for the Lynnfield program,” said Perrone of the Pioneers’ strong cast of sophomores, including Sarah Mezini who finished with a game-high 12 assists in addition to an ace.”They’ve all worked extremely hard and continue to improve their skills each day,” she said. “It makes me extremely excited as a coach for the coming years.”For Pope John, Jade Moore totaled two kills while Anya Walcott (kill, ace); Papillon DiMarzio (kill) and Jessica Furtado (ace) factored in as well. Sam Chen was a spark plug in the middle, recording double-digit digs.In the finale, Ryan started with three aces and a service point in succession before aces from Kaitlyn Flannery (5 digs) and Camie Foley pushed the host’s leads to 7-1 and 18-5 respectively.Jessica Dwyer, the team’s leader in digs (8), clinched the victory, fittingly, with one last ace to an open spot in the middle.