LYNNFIELD — The No. 4 Lynnfield volleyball team took care of business Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 29 Bishop Fenwick, 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-21), at home in the Division 3 Round of 32.
Senior captain Alexia Vaquerano of the Pioneers notched her 500th career kill, finishing with a game-high 11.
“She was a middle the last couple of years and middle hitters usually don’t get set there as most of the sets go to the sides,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Ashley. “She has over 260 kills this year alone. Our success is a large percentage due to her and that’s what you saw today. We’re also serving more confidently and aggressively now, so that’s also kept us in a lot of matches.”
Crusaders’ coach Alexis Bedard said she was proud of her team’s effort.
“I told the girls to put the seeds aside and that any team can win against any team. You have to have that mentality.” she said. “I just kept telling them to forget about who they are playing and play your hardest. Play your best game — whether it’s our last game or we make it to the finals — and that’s what they did.”
The Crusaders got off to a good start, jumping out to an early 8-5 lead. With the match tied 9-9 after a Thayer Sutherland winner, the Pioneers took the lead for good behind the serve of sophomore Sophie Shaievitz after a couple of Fenwick hitting errors and an ace made it 12-10.
From there, it was all Pioneers, who closed out the set with a 12-4 run to take a 1-0 lead.
Lynnfield led from start to finish in the second set, but it was still up for grabs with Lynnfield holding a 9-5 lead. With junior captain Audrey Manning at the service line, the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run — the big shots being a couple of Manning kills and ace, an Elliana Moretti winner, and a monster kill from Sutherland that stretched the Pioneers’ lead to 18-5. Fenwick senior captain Emme Lubas stopped the bleeding with a big kill.
With senior Brittney Figulski serving, Fenwick went on a mini 3-0 to pull to within nine at 18-9, but that was as close as the Crusaders came. Vaquerano set up set point with a blistering kill down the line, then Sutherland clinched it with an ace.
Despite being in an 0-2 hole, the Crusaders showed no quit in the deciding set, leading by as many as three early and still on top, 18-17, only to have the Pioneers fight back with a 4-0 run to regain the lead, 21-18, after a big kill from Vaquerano. Trailing, 23-18, after a Shaievitz ace, Fenwick closed to 23-21 after a Lynnfield hitting error and an ace from senior captain Charlotte Spooner. A cross-court winner from Vaquerano and another ace from Sutherland clinched the set.
“Playing hard on every point was our mentality through the whole game today,” Bedard said. “I feel that helped us mentally stay in it — even when we were down 2-0.”
Manning, who, earlier in the week, collected her 500th career assist, finished with 16 assists and 10 kills. Sophomore Carina DeLeo finished with 15 assists, while Sutherland contributed five kills and a team-high four aces.
Ashley highlighted the play of Moretti, DeLeo, and Shaievitz.
“Soph was serving up bullets and Elliana — in her first season as libero — was amazing,” Ashley said. “And Carina, too. For her to play the way she did, having no playoff experience whatsoever, is just incredibly exciting. She just went out there like it was hers and she owned it.”
Spooner had six kills and a team-high 10 digs for Fenwick. Lubas finished with a game-high 20 assists and senior captain Kylie Murphy chipped in seven kills and two blocks. Senior captain Caitlin Boyle finished with three kills and two blocks, while Figulski finished with three aces.
Bedard highlighted the play of Lubas and Murphy.
“Emme, my setter, played well and Kylie also did,” Bedard said. “Kylie always has such positive energy on the court. Even if the ball isn’t her way, she always brings a lot of energy and that makes a lot of difference.”
The win extended Lynnfield’s (19-2) winning streak to 11 and punched the Pioneers’ ticket to the Sweet 16, where they will face No. 13 Lynn Classical Tuesday at home (4 p.m.). The Pioneers defeated the Rams, 3-0, in early September.
Fenwick finished its season 9-12.
“That they fought hard was definitely something for them to be proud about,” Bedard said. “They definitely gave their all. We started off a little rocky, but came together and really played together. From where we started at the start of the season to where we ended, they’ve come a long way as a team.”
