LYNN– The English volleyball team began Wednesday’s match against Beverly with a pregame ceremony to honor the seniors on the Bulldogs roster. After the senior night ceremony concluded, it was the Panthers that celebrated a 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs at English’s Paul Cavanagh Fieldhouse.
Set scores were 25-8, 25-16 and 25-14.
With the loss, English fell to 1-12 on the season while Beverly rose to 10-6 and clinched a spot in the state tournament.
“It feels great to come out of here with a win,” Beverly coach Pamela Padovani said. “This win puts us in the state tournament. The past two seasons, we haven’t made it to states so it’s great that we’re in this year. Hopefully we can get past the first round and make it a little further.”
The Panthers came firing out of the gate in the first set. Beverly rolled to a 12-1 start, forcing the Bulldogs to take an early timeout. English coach Mike Haddad hoped his Bulldogs would find their groove after taking a quick breather, but the Panthers rumbled their way to the 25-8 set win. A strong serving attack led the way for Beverly.
“Our serving game is an area that we’ve become very good at this season,” Padovani said. “That’s something that we spend a lot of time working on in practice.”
The second set started in similar fashion. An 8-1 Beverly start forced the Bulldogs, once again, to take a timeout. English closed the gap to as close as six points, down 15-9, but the Panthers ended the set on a 10-7 run. Beverly took the set, 25-16.
“I’m proud of our effort,” Haddad said. “What I love about this team is that they never give up. Even when we’re down 24-4, we’ll still play hard for every single point.”
Down 2-0, English was forced to dig deep in the third set in hopes of staying alive. The Bulldogs hung close through the first 12 points, down 8-4, but the Panthers rallied impressively, once again, to put English away. A 10-0 Beverly run put the the Panthers ahead, 18-4. Beverly took the set, 25-14, to win the match in straight sets.
“We were getting hit really hard by some strong serves by Beverly,” Haddad said. “After a few aces, it’s hard not to let it get into your head. That can often affect our confidence for the rest of the match.”
For Beverly, Avery Barror tallied four assists, Ella Spiedel totalled two aces and one kill, Maddy Cassidy added eight aces and Katie Noonan contributed five aces and three kills. Mari Ellis had three kills and Delaney Sprague, who Padovani said has improved her serve game recently, added four points on service.
Up next for the Panthers is a visit to Winthrop on Friday. English will hope to bounce back on Tuesday when the Bulldogs visit crosstown rival Classical.
Prior to the start of the match, Haddad took the floor to wish well on the future endeavors of the seniors on both teams. Beverly carries six seniors on its roster: setter Sydney Wiley, outside hitter Noonan, middle Sprague, outside hitter Cassidy, libero Bri Snow and setter Julia Gebhardt.
“This group of seniors truly dedicated itself to volleyball during the offseason,” Padovani said.
English carries nine seniors on its roster: captains Denelis Acosta and Julie Muy, Sarah Abdelrahman, Makayla Clements, Keren Huertas, Melody Medina, Ruth Samuel, Britney Somaiy and Gabby Patterson.
“Our seniors work really hard,” Haddad said. “They give a full effort in games and practices and they serve as good role models for the underclassmen. The downside is I only have them for this season.”
