“You can’t be sad if you never give up,” said Lynnfield Head Coach Brent Ashley after the Pioneer volleyball team was eliminated by Joseph Case in the Final Four of the Division 4 state tournament. The Cardinals rattled off three set wins in a row after losing the first to advance to the state final at the neutral location of Canton High School.
An emotionally-proud Ashley said he urged his players to keep their heads up, and to understand there are more important things than one score on one night.
“You can’t be upset, you can’t be sad about it. The only thing you can be sad about is that your time with the seniors is up,” Ashley said.
Senior Celia Carbone played the role of the hero, racking up 40 assists. When Ashley saw some nerves early on, he told her to just breathe. Carbone took those words and delivered a performance Ashley said he’ll tell generations from now, and praises “her age, her maturity, her seniority.”
All-American Ella Gizmunt, who played with a partially-torn meniscus in her knee, impressed along with Carbone.
“Their [Joseph Case] whole entire plan was to defend her, but she still had 26 kills,” Ashley said. “She was doing Ella things.”
Ashley said Joseph Case has arguably the best defense in the state, and gives credit to Gizmunt who also recorded 12 digs.
A 14-5 lead, that forced a Case timeout, was all the Pioneers needed in the first set. Lynnfield was dominant, establishing the tone early and winning 25-18.
In the second and third sets, the story flipped to a different page. The Pioneers held 20-15 leads in both sets, but saw both disappear en route to losing both sets. The second set score was 25-22 while the third was 25-23.
With one life remaining, the Pioneers lost the fourth set and its miraculous 20-4 season came to an end. The Cardinals won the set 25-23 after Lynnfield had a 21-18 lead.
Ashley said one of the big themes of the game was an inability to stop Joseph Case serves, and that all of those points added up when things were tight towards the end of sets.
Despite the always-hard-to-swallow elimination, Ashley said he wasn’t emotional until later in the night because of how proud he was of the group.
“You’re the only group I’ve ever had who have wanted it since 8th grade,” Ashley said. “I’m thankful that every moment with you guys was special.”
