SWAMPSCOTT — Preliminary rounds of the Division 3 state volleyball tournament began Thursday as No. 26 Swampscott hosted No. 39 Saugus. The Big Blue protected home court with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-23) sweep to advance to the Round of 32 against No. 7 Pembroke (noon).
Swampscott got out to a fast start, jumping ahead, 10-3, in both the first and second sets. Starting hot was something coach Amanda Clement emphasized heading into the match.
“Throughout the year, it’s been something we’ve either done really well or struggled with. We’re either fighting for our lives to get back into a game or we’re ahead,” Clement said. “That was something we stressed yesterday in practice: to get out first.”
A player who had it going for Swampscott was senior captain Lauren Paul (6 kills, ace), who was effective on both ends with strong blocking and emphatic kills.
“Lauren has been awesome as a second-year captain,” Clement said. “She was an outside hitter, but we needed her in the middle this year. She moved into the position seamlessly and has been incredible. She can play anywhere.”
Despite being down, 0-2, going into the third set, the Sachems battled back for a competitive third. Saugus’ Megan Xavier was doing her best to keep her team’s postseason dreams alive.
“She’s our middle and she’s graduating this year, but she’s really come to life,” said Saugus coach Mikayla Kingstad. “Her blocking, her hitting, her energy — it’s everything. She used to hit a lot of balls out as a freshman, but now, she’s dropping them right in front of the 10-foot line. She definitely stepped up for us tonight.”
With the Sachems’ season wrapped up, Kingstad reflected on her connection with the seniors.
“I started with this group,” she said. “It’s been a great season. We’ve overcome a lot of adversity. We’ve had a lot of injuries and weren’t too deep in the roster this year. I’m graduating eight of them and only have two returning next year. It was definitely an emotional one for me.”
As for Swampscott, Clement is looking forward to the challenge against Pembroke. She believes the Northeastern Conference will have players prepared.
“We look at it as any other game. We face some really great competition up here just in our conference. I want to say some of our best games this year have been against some top teams like Marblehead, Bishop Fenwick, and Peabody. We beat Bishop Fewnick and took sets from Marblehead and Peabody. We played well against higher-ranked teams and look forward to stepping up to the challenge again.”
