Hollis Brookline girls volleyball advances to fourth straight D1 final with sweep of Spaulding

DERRY - The Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team has every reason to take things for granted.

The Cavaliers have won 53 matches in row, have lost just six sets in the last two years, and are three-time Division I defending champions, but going into Wednesday's semifinal against Spaudling, HB knew it had to be at the top of its game.

The top-seed Cavs were, and after falling behind early in the first set, cruised to a 3-0 win over the No. 5 Red Raiders at Pinkerton Academy. Game scores were 25-11, 25-15 and 25-14.

HB (20-0) moves on to the final for the fourth year in a row, and fifth time since moving up to D1, where the Cavs will face No. 6 Bedford (17-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday at Pinkerton.

"At any level, it’s no forgone conclusion, especially at tournament time, because nobody wants to go home early," HB coach Becky Balfour said. "We came in here ready to battle. That’s a fantastic team over there, it’s a great program.

"We’ve got strong hitters, but we knew we’d have to play some really good defense because Spaulding is known for their defense. We had to step up our defensive game."

Maddie Norris led the Cavs with 15 kills and 13 digs, and dominated parts of the match, hitting the ball all over to keep Spaulding guessing.

"(Norris) elevated," Balfour said. "Isn’t it wonderful to watch? And when you worry about Maddie, you’ve got Liz Atkinson on the right side hammering the ball at you.

"When you’re not dealing with them, you’ve got Kaleigh Whalen, who is a threat from the back row and the front row. Then we’ve got middles in there who are mixing it up and blocking hard."

Atkinson added seven kills and four blocks and Whalen had four kills, four aces, one block and 15 digs. Kyra Belden added 32 assists, four digs and two aces and Sammie Sheppard had five aces and seven digs.

After Spaulding (16-5) got out to a 5-2 lead in the first game, it was all Cavs the rest of the way. HB won 12 straight points after that, with Natalie Cook serving, and overall, won 23 of the final 29 points.

The Red Raiders again went up 5-2 in the second set, and were able to hold onto the lead a little longer, but the Cavs came back. HB took 10 out of 12 points to take a 14-8 lead, with Norris hitting the ball all over the floor.

"For me, it’s moving the ball around the court and putting it where they are not, and making them move," she said. "I think we’re really locked in. Every team has their issues in the beginning, and ours was focusing. During games we weren’t really as dialed in as we should be, so we worked on that a lot this season. Focusing and playing our game."

Spaulding couldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way and eventually HB won by 10.

The Cavs led from start to finish in the third set, and with Sheppard serving, HB went on a 11-0 run to take a 15-3 lead. The Red Raiders got the lead down to nine a few times, but couldn't get any closer.

"Taking nothing for granted every step of the way," Balfour said. "That’s going to be the plan going into the final. Our goal is to just play our game, which is a very good game no matter who we are playing. We’re going to try to bring some power to (Bedford) and play some defense."