Hollis Brookline girls volleyball holds off Bishop Guertin to remain undefeated (video)

HOLLIS - For the Hollis Brookline and Bishop Guertin high school girls volleyball teams, Monday's match was as much a learning experience as it was about a win or a loss.

Both teams took home quite an education about themselves and each other.

After the Cardinals started fast and took the first game, 25-21, the Cavaliers were dominant in winning the next two (25-10 and 25-13) and looked to on their way to closing out the match early in the fourth.

But Bishop Guertin battled back, and the teams went back and forth right to the end, as HB kept its record perfect, winning the game 26-24 and the match 3-1.

Elizabeth Atkinson led the Cavs (8-0) with 19 kills and Maddie Norris added 14 kills and five aces, while Kyra Belden had 40 assists and six aces.

"We felt like we had something to prove coming into this," HB coach Becky Balfour said. "They played fantastic. It’s a big match."

Sammie Sheppard also had 19 digs and five aces and Maren Anderson had three aces for the Cavs, who had a four-point lead through most of the fourth game before Bishop Guertin came back to tie it up at 13.

From there, the teams traded points the rest of the way, with neither able to go up by more than two points. The Cardinals (7-2) pulled ahead 21-19, forcing HB to take a timeout, but the Cavs responded with three straight points to go back in front and Bishop Guertin used a timeout.

The teams traded serves after that until HB was able to win two straight points to take the match.

"There were definitely ups and downs, but what I told them is that we get to see our fullest potential," Bishop Guertin coach Abby Rosen said. "The first and the last game, we played very well, we just had a couple of speed bumps in the middle. We can see our fullest potential, so that to me is valuable."

Bishop Guertin got 17 digs and two aces from Paola Matos while Mariana Gomes had 17 digs and five kills. Julia Pascucci recorded 11 assists and six kills and Eileen Valente had nine digs.

After a back-and-forth start, the Cardinals took control of the first game, using two 6-0 runs to take a 16-7 lead. That advantage eventually grew to 20-10 before HB started to come back.

The Cavs cut it to four points twice, including 24-20, but Bishop Guertin was able to hang on for the win, handing HB its first game-loss of the season. The Cavs had won all seven of their previous matches by a 3-0 count.

"Taking a set loss, going back and forth in the fourth game, we embrace that adversity," Balfour said. "That’s going to make us better."

HB got out to a narrow lead in the second game, but was able to push the lead to six with Anderson on the line, and then won the final 10 points with Belden serving. Another long run in the third game, this time with Sheppard serving, gave the Cavs control, as they led throughout.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday, as HB hosts Concord in a rematch of last year's Division I championship match, while Bishop Guertin hosts Manchester Central.