GORHAM—Midnight struck for Cheverus’ 10th-ranked volleyball team Wednesday evening.
Visiting the second-seeded Gorham Rams, the reigning Class A state champions, in the state semifinals, the Stags hoped to continue their improbable and historic playoff run, but in the blink of eye, one play sucked the air out of a comeback attempt and sealed their fate.
The Rams, behind strong serving from senior Natalie Smith and junior Ava DeVinney, pulled away to take the first game, 25-10, but Cheverus roared to life in the second game and when senior Isla Willis produced a no-look kill, the lead was 21-13 and the Stags were on the brink of evening the match.
Their chances looked even better when junior Kate Napolitano Aberle appeared to serve up an ace on the next point, but Gorham senior Vanessa Walker made the save of the year and that led to a stunning 12-1 Rams’ run that gave them a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead.
Cheverus couldn’t respond in the third game and Gorham, which never trailed, gradually pulled away to win, 25-9, taking the match in three sets.
The Rams improved to 12-4, ended the Stags’ season at a misleading 6-11 and in the process, advanced to take on top-ranked Biddeford (15-1) in the Class A state final Saturday at 4 p.m., at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.
“When Cheverus is playing well, they’re a great team,” said Gorham coach Emma Tirrell. “When they’re earning points, all I could say to my team was to trust that momentum would end up back on our side. We played through it. We kept our heads up and eventually got momentum back.”
Better than expected
Cheverus hoped for a deep run when the season began, but it won just four of 14 regular season matches despite being competitive throughout.
As a result, the Stags wound up 10th in a deep Class A field, but rallied to stun No. 7 Windham in five games in the preliminary round before upsetting No. 2 Thornton Academy in four sets in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Gorham, meanwhile, was thought to be rebuilding after graduating an abundance of contributors to last year’s first-ever championship team.
Instead, the Rams won 10 of 14 regular season matches, going undefeated against Class A competition, losing only to Class B contenders Falmouth, Washington Academy, Yarmouth and York.
Gorham twice beat Cheverus by 3-0 scores in the regular season.
The Rams had won all three prior playoff meetings as well, including a 3-0 decision in last year’s quarterfinals.
Wednesday, in front of a large and vocal crowd, Gorham took care of business in straight sets again, but in the middle game, the Stags let a golden opportunity slip away.
Cheverus took leads of 2-1 (on an ace from Napolitano Aberle) and 5-4 (on a kill from sophomore Dylan Walker), but the Rams evened things up, then DeVinney stepped to the service line and didn’t leave until the score was 14-5.
Consecutive DeVinney aces put Gorham in front to stay, junior Lauren Dunbar took passes from sophomore setter Liana Edwards and pounded them over the net and even though Stags’ first-year coach Gary Powers called timeout, it didn’t stem the tide.
Cheverus crept back to 17-10, but Smith took over from there, serving the final seven points, and a kill from DeVinney brought the curtain down on the Rams’ 25-10 first game win.
DeVinney had nine service points, including four aces, as well as two kills and a block, while Smith served seven points, Edwards had six assists and Dunbar tallied four kills.
The second set would be much closer, but ultimately had the same result.
A kill from junior Mary Hackleman gave the Stags a quick lead and another kill and a block from Hackleman, a kill from Walker and aces from senior Eliana White and Napolitano Aberle made it 7-1, forcing Tirrell to call timeout.
It didn’t help, as a block from Walker and a Walker kill made it 10-3. After Gorham got a point back on a kill from sophomore Abbie Stevens, Cheverus went in front, 13-4. The Rams crept back to 15-11, but after a service fault, Hackleman had three consecutive kills and the lead grew to 20-11. Gorham got the next two points, but Willis’ no-look kill brought the Stags’ cheering section to their feet.
Napolitano Aberle then served a perfect ball which a Rams’ defender could only get a piece of and as the ball flew toward the back wall, an ace and a nine-point lead appeared certain.
Until Walker flew into the frame from nowhere, diving to keep the ball alive and junior Addyson Simcock didn’t just return it over the net, she got the ball to drop for an impossible point.
“I was just fed up with losing point after point and I knew we needed some shift and I just went after it,” said Walker. “I realized if I dove, I wasn’t going to hit the wall and I just went for it. I was on the ground and I didn’t see the ball go over. All my teammates ran over to me. They were so happy for me.”
“We’ve talked a lot about communication and keeping the ball off the floor and having the grit to do that,” Tirrell said. “When you have kids willing to set the precedent that that’s who we are, that sets up a domino effect.”
Even after the momentum shift, Cheverus was still in front, 21-14, but the fun was just beginning for the home team.
DeVinney returned to the service line and delivered point after point and in the blink of an eye, the Rams were within 21-19, forcing Powers to call timeout.
It didn’t help, as DeVinney served up consecutive aces to tie it, then a block from Stevens put Gorham in front to stay. After another DeVinney ace precipitated a timeout, the Stags finally snapped the 10-0 run, but a kill from Edwards and another from junior Haley Vickery gave the Rams a 25-22 win and firm control of the match.
“We focus a lot on keeping our energy up the whole time,” Walker said. “We get down, but we always fight back and that keeps our momentum going. Ava had a huge run. She brought us back.”
“Everything started going their way after that (save),” Powers said. “That’s the name of the game. One play can change everything in the blink of an eye. We’ve struggled all season on keeping the energy and attitude up when we fall behind.”
DeVinney had 10 service points, including three aces, in the second set, while Simcock added a pair of aces, negating Hackleman’s five kills and four blocks.
Gorham didn’t want to let Cheverus hang around and came out and finished off the Stags in the third game.
A pair of aces from Simcock helped open up a quick 5-0 lead.
“Once they took a few points to start the third game, I knew it would be tough,” Powers said.
After a Dunbar kill made it 8-2, Cheverus got a kill from freshman Frida Gray, an ace from junior Ada Pultorak and a kill from Walker before scoring another point to pull within two, but that’s as close as it would get.
After the Stags pulled within 10-7 on a kill from Gray, the Rams rattled off seven straight points to end all doubt.
The run began with two kills from Stevens. Dunbar then served up a pair of aces before a Stevens block capped the run. A pair of kills from Walker and two aces from Smith made it 22-8 and while Smith missed on her next serve, the match was nearing its end.
Walker added a kill, Cheverus couldn’t return the ball on the next point, then Walker’s kill at 7:38 p.m. ended the game, 25-9, and the match, 3-0.
“We wanted a clean sweep,” Walker said. “Coach has been telling me to hit it to that spot for weeks and I finally did it and finished it off. It felt amazing.”
DeVinney finished with seven aces out of her 19 service points. Smith had 15 service points, including three aces. Simcock ended up with nine service points.
Edwards had 20 assists, Dunbar produced eight kills, Stevens finished with five kills and Walker had five kills and three service points, as well as the defensive play of the game.
Gorham handed Biddeford its lone loss this year, 3-0, Oct. 3.
The Rams are ready to do it again and bring home more hardware.
“I’m so excited,” Walker said. “We want to win again so badly. We’ve worked so hard to rebuild our team. We’ll work hard. I’m super-confident in us.”
“It means so much to get back to states,” said Tirrell. “We had 10 seniors playing last year. Everyone thought it would be a rebuilding year, but this group wants to show they learned a lot and they’re just as hungry. We need to have a couple of really fun practices. We’re ready. Anything can happen.”
Magical ride
Cheverus got five kills and four blocks from Hackleman, five kills and three blocks from Gray, five kills and one block from Walker, 10 assists and seven service points from White, five service points from Pultorak and a pair of aces from Napolitano Aberle.
“It’s been amazing,” Powers said. “We’re a small school, 365 kids, playing in Class A. We made nice strides. We beat Scarborough for the first time in program history and we made it to the semifinals for the first time.”
The Stags graduate White, Willis, do-everything Bella Cortez and Lucy Kenney, but return everyone else.
This isn’t the last we’ll hear from this program.
“We’ll miss the seniors, but we have kids coming up who can fill the gaps” Powers said. “We have kids who will be back next year. I’m looking forward to it.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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