SCARBOROUGH—Scarborough’s volleyball team is never out of a match.

Because the Red Storm are capable of going on a run at any point.

Thanks to their terrific service game.

Scarborough, the No. 6 seed for the Class A state tournament, welcomed No. 11 South Portland to Alumni Gymnasium for a preliminary round battle Thursday night and despite having to play from behind much of the night, managed to make quick work of the Red Riots.

South Portland held a 20-14 advantage in the first set before four aces from sophomore Natale Philibert sparked a 9-0 run and a 25-22 victory, which was capped by a kill from senior captain Olivia Ingream.

The Red Storm’s second game victory was more traditional, as sophomore Madi Clements’ back-to-back aces helped produce an early lead and and a 7-0 service run, featuring three aces from Ingream, opened it up and Scarborough prevailed, 25-13.

The Red Riots did all they could to extend the match in the third set and even led, 19-14, but the Red Storm weren’t willing to delay matters, as they produced 11 of the final 12 points, and one final service run from Philibert finished off a 25-20 win and a 3-0 match victory.

Scarborough improved to 7-8, ended South Portland’s season at 6-9 and in the process, advanced to take on No. 3 Gorham (10-4), the reigning state champion, in the quarterfinals Saturday at 11 a.m., at Gorham.

“Serving has always been a strong suit of ours,” said Red Storm coach Nicole Petherbridge. “It’s one of our biggest upper-hands. Serve-receive is one of the hardest parts of high school volleyball, so if we can go on runs by serving aggressively, that’s been a secret to our success. It helped keep (South Portland) at bay and didn’t allow them to run their offense.”

Stop us if you can

The regular season didn’t go as well as hoped for either squad.

Scarborough, a state finalist in 2023, started 3-1 and was 5-3 at one point, but lost five of its last six matches to wind up under .500 for the first time since 2005. Regardless, the Red Storm qualified for the playoffs for the 19th consecutive postseason.

“We’re a resilient bunch,” Petherbridge said. “The girls know the Scarborough volleyball standard and want to meet it. They won’t make excuses for being young or for (all-star senior) Natalie (Moynihan) being injured. It’s nice to see that. You can’t teach that.”

South Portland, meanwhile, won its first two outings, then dropped five of six en route to a 6-8 mark, which doubled last year’s win total.

The teams met back on Sept. 12, in Scarborough, and the Red Storm prevailed in four games.

Scarborough also took the lone prior playoff encounter, a 3-1 victory to capture the 2017 Class A state title (see sidebar).

Thursday, the Red Riots had their moments of excellence, but the Red Storm got hot when it mattered and kept their season alive.

South Portland senior Meron Carlisle serves the ball early in Thursday’s Class A preliminary round playoff match at Scarborough. The Red Storm prevailed in three games. Hoffer photos.

The Red Riots started fast, as senior Meron Carlisle served up a couple aces to open up a 4-0 advantage. After the teams traded multiple service faults, South Portland went up, 10-4, then, 13-5, on an ace from junior Nicole Leboeuf, but in the blink of an eye, Scarborough ripped off seven straight points, highlighted by junior Izzy Harmon’s serving and a pair of aces from Ingream. After Red Riots coach Sarah Marckoon called timeout, the Red Riots restored order and thanks to kills from senior Abigail Thayer and senior Princee Patel, pushed the lead back to 20-14, but the Red Storm were unrelenting.

After Scarborough got a point, Philibert served up eight straight, including four aces. A kill from sophomore Caleb Atwood gave the Red Storm their first lead and the last two Philibert aces made it 23-20. After South Portland got a point back, a block from Patel cut the deficit to a single point, but the Red Riots hit the ball into the net, then Ingream’s kill gave the opening game to Scarborough, 25-22.

The Red Storm got four aces and five assists from Philibert, six service points from Harmon and three kills from Ingream as they drew first blood.

“It was a huge momentum boost,” Petherbridge said. “That gave us the energy we needed and showed us what we’re capable of. When our serving game is on, the rest of the elements of our game tend to follow.”

The second game saw Scarborough seize control of the match.

Scarborough senior Olivia Ingream lines up a serve.

South Portland went up early, 4-2, behind a kill from Patel and an ace from senior Linnea Whitton. The Red Riots then held a slim 7-6 advantage behind an ace from senior Sydney Knaide, but the next six points went to the Red Storm, as senior Alison Canatsey had a kill and a block and Clements delivered two aces to make it 12-7. South Portland crept within 13-9, but an 8-0 Scarborough run ensued, with seven of the points served by Ingream, including three aces in four points.

“We took our time and focused and picked spots on the court to serve at,” said Ingream.

A kill from Canatsey capped the run and while the Red Riots got within 21-12 on an ace from Carlisle, Atwood had a kill, Canatsey served up an ace, then another and after South Portland got a point back, the next point went to the Red Storm who took a 2-0 lead by virtue of a 25-13 win.

Clements and Ingream each had six service points in the game, while Canatsey produced a couple aces, two kills and a block and Atwood added three kills.

The Red Riots could have packed up and gone home, but instead, they threatened to take the third set and extend the match, only to have Scarborough roar back late once more to end it.

Three straight aces from Whitton helped spark an 8-0 run, with seven of the points coming from Whitton, to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 lead. A kill from Atwood stemmed the tide, junior Adrian Swalla followed with a kill, then Clements served the ball, which hit the top of the net, then dropped over for an ace to cut the deficit to four. The Red Storm got as close as 12-10 before South Portland started to pull away again behind kills from Carlisle and Thayer. A Thayer block then made it 19-14, but Scarborough flipped the switch from there.

The Red Storm won the next point and that sent Clements to the service line, where she promptly delivered an ace. A kill from Atwood got Scarborough close, then the hosts tied things up at 19-19 before Atwood dove to save possession and a kill from Swalla gave the Red Storm the lead. A service fault tied the score, but an Atwood kill put Scarborough in front to stay. An ace from Philibert forced Marckoon to call timeout, but it didn’t help, as Philibert served up another ace and the Red Riots hit the ball into the net to set up match point.

Philibert served the ball over once more, South Portland hit it out and the Red Storm had the game 25-20, and the match in straight sets.

Scarborough players and the Red Storm’s fans celebrate after the final point.

“We just had to increase our communication,” Ingream said. “We had our talks in the center and got everyone hyped. We wanted to finish them off in three.”

“I think the girls like the pressure of coming from behind,” said Petherbridge. “It was a great comeback. We’ve worked on delivering in crunch time. The girls have risen to the occasion a lot this year. For better or for worse this year, we’ve played a lot of five-game matches. They know what it feels like and kudos to them for going out and getting it (in three).”

Scarborough won 75 total points on the night and 18 of them came on aces.

“I think (the Red Storm) have some really good float serves and the ball moves when you try to pass it,” Marckoon said.

Philibert finished with 16 service points, including seven aces, and also had seven assists.

Clements added 13 service points, including four aces.

Ingream had eight service points, including three aces, and five kills.

Harmon tallied six service points, including two aces, and two kills.

Atwood was a top hitter with nine kills, Canatsey had four kills (and two aces), Swalla added two kills and senior Evelyn Winslow finished with 11 assists.

For South Portland, Whitton had a dozen service points, including five aces, to lead the way.

Carlisle added four aces and Thayer bowed out with four kills.

“This is a really special team that worked really hard,” said Marckoon. “It was a good, close-knit group who loved each other and played for each other.

“We have eight seniors, so next year will be interesting. We do have a big junior class coming up. They got a taste of it this year.”

No motivation necessary

Scarborough lost in straight sets at Gorham in the opener Sept. 5, then took the Rams to five sets at home before falling Oct. 10.

The teams have split eight prior playoff showdowns, with Gorham’s 3-1 victory in last year’s state match the most recent.

“We want to get some revenge from last year,” Ingream said. “We just have to keep our energy up, stay focused and locked in. We took them to five last time. We know we can play with them.”

“The girls are hungry and they want it,” said Petherbridge. “I think our mindset is that two points were the difference a couple weeks ago (a 15-13 score in the decisive fifth set). In our minds, we’re two points from victory. We’re going in having some playoff experience and they’re coming off a bye. We’ll come at them hard.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.