Nashua South girls volleyball comes back to knock off Bedford, remain unbeaten (video)

BEDFORD - It makes sense that the Nashua High School South girls volleyball team would have revenge on its mind Monday night against Bedford.

This season, the Panthers returned most of the lineup that was upset by the Bulldogs in last year's Division I semifinals, so it wasn't too surprising when South started the match by cruising to a 25-13 win in the first set. But then the Panthers took their foot off the gas, and a young Bedford team - only three players who were on varsity a season ago remain - found it's footing.

The Bulldogs battled back and grabbed two close wins to push South to the brink, but some strong serving by Paige Garland forced a fifth game and the Panthers carried the momentum into the final set for a 3-2 win over Bedford. Game scores were 25-13, 22-25, 22-25, 25-18 and 15-8.

The win keeps South (16-0) undefeated and in contention for the No. 1 seed in this year's D1 tournament.

"I think we’re playing with an extreme amount of pressure because we’ve done the math and we understand what it means to walk away with that No. 1 seed," South coach Wayne Siejkowski said. "I think they came in super excited and I think they came in really aggressive. In that second match, I think they felt like ‘well that’s all we have to do.’

"I told them between the games, Bedford struggled with their passing game in that first one, they’re going to figure it out. We’re going to have to do more. I think then we played to not lose rather than go out and be aggressive."

Kara Kelliher led South with 12 kills and Catherine Covert had 10 kills and five blocks. Cara Lecklider also had 10 kills and Garland added seven while setter Anne Sherman also had a strong game for the Panthers.

Bedford (9-7) led throughout the entire second set and for all but a couple of points in the third set to take a 2-1 lead.

"We’ve spent a lot of time over the past weeks working on our mental toughness," Bedford coach Anna McGann said. "We’re building up their strength and their confidence, regardless of what age they are or grade they’re in, is so important. When you start to put realistic expectations behind it, those phrases bring out the competitor in certain athletes, and I think that’s what you saw. We have a group of athletes, but we have to bring out the competitive side of them, which is exciting."

That competitive spirit showed in Game 3, when South took a 21-20 lead only to watch Bedford come back and win five of the final six points to win the set.

The Panthers righted the ship early in the fourth game, taking a 12-7 lead, but the Bulldogs answered with a 5-0 run to tie the set, and the teams started trading points until it was tied at 18. With Garland serving, South closed out the game with an 7-0 run to force a fifth set.

"She was great from the service line," Siejkowski said. "She started off Game 1 and set the tone with her serve, and caught them off guard. She found it when we needed her to. It was a good matchup with her serving to a specific spot."

Bedford took a 4-1 lead in the final game, but South came back to take a 7-6 lead. After the Bulldogs tied it, the Panthers won eight of the final nine points to keep their perfect record intact.

"When we got into that fourth game I said we’ve got nothing to lose now," Siejkowski said. "Might as well go out swinging. Don’t just poke it over, go up and hit hands. See if they have stronger hands than you do."

Both teams are back at it on Wednesday, as Bedford has its final home match against Manchester Memorial while South travels to face Exeter.