Hollis Brookline girls volleyball remains unbeaten with sweep of Portsmouth (video)

HOLLIS - The Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team prepares every practice for different situations it might see on the court.

So when an opponent carries a lead throughout a set, or makes a big comeback let, the Cavaliers are ready to handle what gets thrown at them.

On Monday against Portsmouth, that meant never panicking when the Clippers took the lead or made a run, as HB was able to stay in control and pick up a 3-0 win in Division I action. Game scores were 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23.

The Cavs (9-0) fought back from an early deficit in the first set and staved off a late comeback from Portsmouth (5-4) in the third to pick up their 63rd win in a row and the four hundredth of head coach Becky Balfour's coaching career.

"They brought the energy to the game," Balfour said of her team. "Friday night’s match against Concord, it was kind of the same thing. We beat them, but I felt like we could have played with more energy. They certainly did (Monday)."

Kaleigh Whalen led the way for HB with 10 kills while Maren Anderson and Lydia Daskalos added seven and six kills, respectively. Angelina Leonard had 31 assists and four aces and Sammie Sheppard had 13 digs and two aces while also going on a pair of long service runs in the first two games.

"We had to stay humble and play hard," Sheppard said. "We take every match as if we’re playing in a championship and play competitively. We love a competitive game and it’s fun to play really hard no matter what."

Portsmouth came out ready to go in the first set, as the Clippers were able to go in front 8-5 after the teams traded the first couple of points. Portsmouth was able to keep the lead for a long stretch, going up 15-12 before Sheppard went on her first service run.

The senior helped the Cavs take five straight points, giving HB a 17-15 lead and forcing the Clippers to take a timeout. HB got the lead up to as many as four points before holding on for the win.

"Sometimes it does feel like we’re losing, but for that specific game, it didn’t feel like it at any point," Whalen said. "We all played very well and competitive, and at that playing level it doesn’t feel like you’re losing. It was nice to have that."

Sheppard helped HB break open a close game in the second set, as she served seven straight points as the Cavs turned a 12-11 lead into a 19-11 advantage on the way to the win.

The teams came out trading points in the third set before HB was able to get out to a 15-10 lead. The Cavs' advantage was four points when Portsmouth started to come back behind the serving of Rory Ledoux.

The Clippers won six points in a row to take a 20-18 lead, but HB came back to tie it up at 21 when Portsmouth took a timeout.

"We work at being consistent and not worrying about what the score is," Balfour said. "I told them at 21-21, it doesn’t matter. This is what we play for, it’s a four-point game, let’s go. We came out of the timeout and that’s what we did."

Portsmouth won the next point to go up 22-21, but HB took the next two and held on for the sweep.

"We do a lot of drills in practice where we’re under a lot of pressure," Sheppard said. "It doesn’t get into our heads very much. We feel confident that we know how to close a match. We don’t get in our heads very much when we’re down."

The Cavs make a pair of trips to Manchester this week, as they go to Central on Wednesday and to Memorial on Friday. Portsmouth hosts Keene on Wednesday before traveling to Windham on Friday.