SCARBOROUGH — One year after having its title hopes dashed by Gorham, Scarborough got a dose of revenge in a Class A volleyball semifinal Wednesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.
And the Red Storm did it in the sweetest way possible, by winning a thriller in five dramatic games.
The second-seeded Red Storm captured the fifth game, 15-11, to set up a showdown against defending state champion Falmouth at 6 p.m. Friday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.
“It was exhausting for me, and I’m not running around on the court,” said Scarborough Coach Kim Stoddard. “We had to fight for it. Gorham is a phenomenal team, probably the best serving team we’ve faced.”
The tone was set in a first game that featured 19 ties. Third-seeded Gorham (12-4) fought off two set points and won 28-26.
But Scarborough (14-2) bounced right back in the second game, getting six kills from Maddie Strouse and seven assists from Bella Dickinson to win 25-20.
The Red Storm then dominated the third game, opening up an 18-3 lead behind long service runs from Shaelyn Thornton and Mya Jones, before closing out a 25-10 victory to take a 2-1 match lead.
But Gorham refused to go quietly, winning the final three points of the fourth game, capped by a kill from Meg Perry, for a 25-22 victory. Setter Ursa Steiner had a whopping 17 assists in the game to help the Rams extend the match.
Scarborough never trailed in Game 5, however. The Red Storm got four service points from Maya Brooks and closed it out with consecutive kills from Strouse.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Strouse. “We all worked so hard and it paid off tonight. We’re such a good team.”
Strouse had 19 kills, Thornton finished with 17 service points and eight kills, Jones had 13 service points, Brooks contributed 16 kills and nine service points, and Mayne Gwyer added 28 assists.
“Most of these kids have played in some big games, but for them to be able to stay together as a group tonight and fight through was amazing,” Stoddard said. “It’s such a great group of girls.”
Scarborough lost 3-1 at home against Falmouth four weeks ago but is optimistic about the rematch.
“I think this is going to carry us through,” said Brooks. “Now we know what we’re facing and we’re going to work so hard at practice the next two days.”
Gorham, which got 43 assists from Steiner and 20 kills from Caralin Mills, was praised by Coach Emma Tirrell for its effort.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” Tirrell said. “Everyone said this was going to be a rebuilding year for us, but we surprised people. We proved to ourselves we could be everything we thought we could be.
“It could have gone either way tonight, but Scarborough earned it. We went neck-and-neck with them.”
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