WINDHAM – Greely High has returned to the top in high school volleyball.
Greely, which won seven straight state championships until last season, captured the Class A championship Saturday with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Scarborough.
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The top-seeded Rangers finished with a 16-0 record, with no team stretching them to five sets. No. 3 Scarborough finished at 14-3, all three defeats coming to the Rangers.
“This one is really sweet,” Greely Coach Kelvin Hasch said. “This is probably the best team I’ve ever had. We have kids who can hit it at every position. I have kids waiting on the bench who can play.”
Greely stayed in control in the first set, but Scarborough took over in the second. The Red Storm led the third set 10-6 and the fourth set 17-10, but could not put away the Rangers.
“I thought we had a chance there,” Scarborough Coach Jon Roberts said. “They just came back and started attacking.”
What Greely also did was begin defending against the powerful spikes of outside hitter Brittany Bona, who had six kills in the second game.
Hasch rotated his line in the third game. Ellie Weickert fronted Bona and blocked her four times for points in the fourth game. Emily Sampson and Jordynne Copp also made blocks.
“I play club with Brittany and she can own the net,” Sampson said. “She’s really good. But we have some amazing blockers.”
At the same time, the Rangers began getting key spiker Maggie Bradley more involved. She had seven kills in the fourth game.
“We made mistakes and let them get ahead,” Bradley said. “But every single time we realized what we were doing.”
With Haleigh Roach and Danielle Cimino setting, the Rangers went on the offensive.
“We picked up our passing and began attacking like we know how to do,” Sampson said.
But the Red Storm still threatened in the fourth set. Bona, Mary Cleary and Meghan Lynch made plays at the net. Emily Robbins kept setting, and Meghan McAlary and Amber Bowen were digging in, while also serving winners.
Scarborough went from being down 7-5 to up 17-11 in the fourth set.
But Greely went on a seven-point run, including three aces and two kills from Bradley, to take an 18-17.
The set was tied two more times.
Two Sampson kills gave Greely the lead for good, 22-20. Roach served for two more points before Scarborough got the service back.
With Greely up 24-21, Cimino sent a spike over the net, and Scarborough could not return it. The celebration began.
“They’re a great team,” Roberts said. “Hats off to them. They had a great year.”
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: ClearTheBases
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