TEWKSBURY – The No. 1 Lynnfield volleyball team picked the worst possible time to pile up the mistakes in a battle of unbeatens with No. 3 Danvers. The Pioneers’ historic year came to an end Saturday in a 3-0 loss to the Falcons in the Division 2 North final at Tewksbury High’s Tony Romano Court.
“We just constantly stayed in the same speed,” Lynnfield coach Brent Ashley said. “We never really got out of it. We made more errors than we made kills. I would be shocked to see if we made more kills than errors. Our serving errors were atrocious. That’s a lot of nerves, and even hitting errors. We were just kind of all over the place.”
But the Pioneers can’t take anything away from Danvers. The Falcons’ height up front and strong service game gave Lynnfield trouble from start to finish.
“It helps when (Danvers) has four girls who are six feet tall,” Ashley said. “Their serving was a lot better than we had seen all season. They really amped up their serving which was really tough for us to try and get out of transition into.
“We had a couple of moments. Ella Gizmunt, my freshman, stepped up and really had some big moments. But Danvers played a little bit faster. We never really got out of those nerves. We just kind of sat there and played on our heels a little bit.”
Those nerves were clear at the start of the match. A handful of errors helped Danvers take a 7-0 lead to start the first set. Lynnfield played catch-up the rest of the way but was resilient, eventually taking a 22-21 lead before a service error broke the Pioneers momentum. Madelyn Montanari got the final kill and Danvers took the set 25-23.
The Falcons pulled away again midway through the second set. Both teams fought to a 12-10 Danvers lead but a Pioneers’ service error and a pair of unforced errors helped the Falcons jump ahead 15-10. Danvers never let Lynnfield recover and took the set 25-16.
Danvers looked like it might run away with the third set, building a 21-13 lead before a Lynnfield timeout. But the Pioneers had one more rally left in them. Three aces from Gizmunt and a kill from Mackenzie Schena helped cut the Danvers lead to 21-19. However, another service error swung the momentum and Danvers capped off the match with a 25-21 win.
For Falcons coach George LeVasseur, who used to coach at Lynnfield, things came full circle with the win.
“It’s funny because the last time I coached in this gym I was an assistant on a Lynnfield team that won the state semifinal here,” LeVasseur said. “I’m lucky enough that I’m close with Brent Ashley. We actually coach all year long together, we coach a club team together. I have tremendous respect for him and his kids. It’s a program that has a legacy of winning. It’s nice to always be in the mix with them.”
That respect is mutual.
“George is very passionate,” Ashley said. “George is very in-your-face all the time. I think that’s what makes him such a dynamic coach. It’s funny because I’m way more humble, quiet, reserved when you compare us. That’s what makes us work really well.
“We knew that it was going to be an emotional game going into it because him and I knew each other so well. It was interesting to see but I think our players responded to that emotion more than anything else.”
The Pioneers end the season at 23-1. Danvers moves on to the state semifinal, where it will play South champion Dennis Yarmouth at Taunton High Wednesday.
