Milford slips by Oyster River to advance to D2 girls volleyball final

DERRY - Beth Solan didn't have any groundbreaking strategy to relay to the Milford High School girls volleyball team during the fifth set of Tuesday's Division II semifinal against Oyster River.

The Spartans coach just reminded her players that the only way they were going to win the match was by playing together.

With the final set tied at 14, No. 3 Milford was able to do just that, winning the final two points to beat No. 2 Oyster River, 3-2, in the final four match at Pinkerton Academy. Game scores were 26-24, 29-31, 17-25, 25-18 and 16-14.

The win sends the Spartans (16-2) to the D2 championship for the first time since 2014, where they will face No. 1 Gilford Saturday at 7 p.m. at Pinkerton.

"They performed how I expected them to perform, but shocked me all at the same time, which is the greatest feeling as a coach," Solan said. "They had their rough patches, but in the end, they really came together and played as one. That’s the biggest thing I can ask of them. They played as one heart, one mind. They were playing as a unit, as a family, and that’s what we expect out of them."

There were times throughout the match where each team seemed to be in control, only to watch the other gain momentum for a stretch.

Oyster River (15-3) had a commanding lead in the first game only to watch Milford come back for the win, but then the Bobcats returned the favor in the second. In the fifth set, the Spartans got out to 9-3 lead before Oyster River cut it to 10-9. Milford went back up 14-10 and the Bobcats responded to tie it at 14.

"The great thing about volleyball is you can have these momentum switches just like that," Oyster River coach Cassandra Sweatt said. "It’s a great thing and it’d an awful thing. It keeps the game fast and exciting.

"I don’t think we gave in, I just think they had runs where they outplayed us a little bit, and then we would go on runs the same way. Until the third and fourth set, we weren’t moving the ball around as much we wanted to. Going five sets in a semifinal, and a 16-14 final, you can’t ask for more."

Gabriella Monico had 16 kills to lead the Spartans while Robyn Krafft had 14 kills and seven digs and Kailyn Chamberlin added 21 assists, 13 digs, four kills and two aces. Julia Guarniere also had a big night, recording eight kills, eight digs and four aces.

Oyster River was led by Cassidy Gibb, who had 18 digs - giving her 507 for her career - to go with 14 assists, nine kills and five aces. Kathryn Cohen added 21 assists and Corrine Quaglieri had 16 kills.

"These girls have fought for everything they’ve had this year," Sweatt said. "They have more heart than any team I’ve ever coached, and it’s led by Cass (Gibb) and Kat (Cohen), my two senior setters. I couldn’t have asked for more."

After rallying to win the second game and then controlling the third, Oyster River looked like it was poised to finish the match in four after getting out to a lead in the fourth set.

But behind the serving of Emily Flaherty and Krafft, Milford turned an 8-6 deficit into a 12-9 lead and started to get momentum back. The Spartans pushed the lead to 18-13 and 22-15, forcing Oyster River to use up its timeouts, and although the Bobcats were able to extend the game, Monico finished it off with a kill to force a fifth set.

The momentum carried over for the Spartans, as they went up by six points in the final set, but Oyster River crept back into it. The Spartans used both their timeouts, the second of which came after the Bobcats made it 14-13.

"The good news is that, when I took the timeout when it was 14-13, the message wasn’t 'do this, do that,' " Solan said. "It was play as a family. You win this together, you fight this together. It doesn’t matter what’s going on if you don’t fight this together. They did that, they went back out and every ball, they played together."

An ace by Cohen tied the match at 14, but Milford won the next point and Monico recorded another kill to give the Spartans the win.