YORK — York High’s volleyball team beat Yarmouth for the first time in school history and is now headed to the Class B state final.
Winning big points at crucial times and getting contributions from across the lineup, the No. 2 Wildcats (14-2) beat the five-time reigning champions in three taut sets to win Wednesday’s state semifinal match, 26-24, 25-22, 25-22.
Yarmouth (12-5), the No. 3 seed, had beaten York twice this season and was 15-0 all-time against the Wildcats. York’s first season as a varsity volleyball program was 2016.
“I think it’s all great. I mean, beating Yarmouth, they’ve won states every year I’ve been in high school,” said senor captain and outside hitter Brooke Roe. “This proves to everyone we’re a top contender.”
York will face No. 1 Washington Academy (16-0) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. It’s York’s first trip to the championship match. Washington lost to Yarmouth in last year’s state final.
“A chance for the state title. It’s unbelievable,” said York Coach Suzanne Bradley, the varsity coach since the program’s inaugural season. “The girls have worked so hard. It’s not just the girls on the court. It’s our entire team. We have a pretty deep bench, so we battle in practice. Our non-starters beat our starters in practice yesterday. That pushes these girls to fight for every single thing, and I think that’s our secret weapon.”
The depth of hitting options showed up in the critical first set. York typically starts slow, Bradley said, and found itself trailing the champs 22-17 and struggling to work around the powerful middle block of Yarmouth junior Grace Keaney, who had four of her match-high eight blocks while Yarmouth was building its lead.
The turnaround started with a kill from freshman Evie Martin (five kills, one block), followed by two from Roe (six kills) on the outside. Setter Bella Parrotta took an alternate approach, surprising Yarmouth’s defense on consecutive points with quick tips over the net on the second ball – when she’d typically be setting up a teammate – for two more points.
Sophomore Makayla Zietala (four kills) gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game with a cross-court kill to make it 25-24, and Jill Holland finished the set with a kill.
“I just trusted my hitters and gave them the ball and they just crushed it,” Parrotta said.
York had control in the next two sets, running out to comfortable leads. Libero Lauren Chagnon served well, as did her teammates, and controlled the defense to help negate Yarmouth’s power hitters Keaney (six kills) from the middle and Ella Cameron (match-high eight kills) on the outside.
York’s ability to repeatedly dig out solid hits extended rallies and forced Yarmouth’s hitters to be more precise. Both teams stayed aggressive with their offensive attack – a necessity against good teams – but the hitting errors mounted for the Clippers, leading directly to six York points in the second set.
“Our swings weren’t quite where they were in other games,” said Erin Quirk, Yarmouth’s second-year coach. “Usually we get a few more kills, a few more aces out there. We struggled being able to hit the ball into the ground, but York is also one of the strongest defensive teams that we’ve seen.”
In the final set, York jumped ahead 5-0 behind three service aces from Parrotta and built a 22-13 lead, aided by two solo blocks by Jill Holland, a kill and an ace from Martin, and an ace and a kill from Zietala
“I told myself that I needed to get a block, I needed to be more aggressive,” Holland said. “That was one of my main goals, and we’ve been working on it a lot in practice and felt our team needed that.”
Yarmouth did rally, cutting the margin to 23-22 with Keaney getting three kills, but York closed out its biggest victory.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.