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# Hollis Brookline girls volleyball knocks off Bishop Guertin to win third straight D1 title
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/hollis-brookline-girls-volleyball-knocks-off-bishop-guertin-win-third-straight-d1-title/
- Published: 2017-11-06T12:30:35.000Z
- Updated: 2017-11-06T12:30:35.000Z
- Description: DERRY - When the Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team played Bishop Guertin during the regular season, the Cavaliers felt like some of their flaws were exposed, despite coming away with a win. The biggest thing HB took from that match was the need to work smart, as much as working har
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, championship, girls volleyball, Hollis Brookline, playoff, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

DERRY - When the Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team played Bishop Guertin during the regular season, the Cavaliers felt like some of their flaws were exposed, despite coming away with a win.

The biggest thing HB took from that match was the need to work smart, as much as working hard, so when the top-seeded Cavs fell behind against the No. 3 Cardinals again in Saturday's Division I championship, there was no need to panic.

Just like HB did in the regular season, it overcame a loss in the opening game to roll through the next two and then hold off a hard-charging Bishop Guertin in the fourth game to win 3-1 at Pinkerton Academy. Scores were 23-25, 25-13, 25-10 and 25-20.

The title is the third in a row for the Cavs (21-0), and their fourth in Division I since moving up in 2011\. They're the first team to win three in a row in D1 since the NHIAA changed to divisions for girls volleyball in 2006, and the first in Class L/D1 since Nashua did it from 1997-99.

"It’s spectacular," HB coach Becky Balfour said. "We tried to focus on each match, set to set, match to match, week to week, and not try to get hung up on (being undefeated). I don’t really think was, we just don’t talk about that. It is what it is. When the tournament starts, all bets are off. We did drop a few sets and we learned from those."

The Cavs even did so in the first game in the final, when Balfour felt they played well enough to win - HB had a 23-22 lead - but just couldn't pull out the win.

"That games over and now we’re looking at the next one," the coach said. "I thought we had some great things that were going on in that first set, but we just pulled up shy. We were going to come out strong in that second game and stay aggressive all the way through. We knew if we could do that, they’d have a hard time with us."

Maddie Norris led the way for HB with 16 kills, 11 digs and three aces and Elizabeth Atkinson had 12 kills and three blocks while Kaleigh Whalen recorded 10 kills. Kyra Belden added 40 assists and eight digs and Sammie Sheppard had 12 digs.

The Cardinals (18-4) went in with a game plan to try to slow down Norris, but as the night wore on, that became a tougher task. As the Cavs built momentum, Bishop Guertin started to struggle in the second and third games.

"I don’t know why we shut down like that," Bishop Guertin coach Abby Savard said. "I don’t know the answer. Maybe we just got scared or it was the pressure, I don’t know. The last one, I just said play and have fun. We almost looked like we weren’t having fun. This is what we love to do. I’m proud of them. Let’s just play and have fun."

Paola Matos recorded 22 digs for the Cardinals and Mariana Gomez had 15 digs and two aces. Libby Knapp had six kills and five digs and Alicia Glasheen had 10 assists and seven digs.

After falling behind, and eventually dropping, the second and third games by double digits, Bishop Guertin took the lead early in the fourth game. The Cardinals led 5-2 before HB came back to win six straight points to go up 9-6.

But Bishop Guertin responded, taking the next seven points to retake a 12-10 lead. The Cardinals also had a 15-14 lead before the Cavs began to take control of the game.

Bishop Guertin made it a 19-18 game late, but HB won six of the final eight points to wrap up the title.